The Karachi commissioner has directed all the traders to shut down their shopping malls and markets in the city by 8:30pm, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The commissioner on Saturday sent a new circular to all the deputy commissioners asking them to ensure closure of all shops and markets in the city by 8:30pm.
The Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry wrote a letter to the Sindh chief secretary in which the latter was asked to implement the federal government’s decisions aimed at overcoming the energy crunch in the country.
The ministry asked the provincial government to issue directives for the closure of all commercial centres by 8:30pm and banquet halls and restaurants by 10pm.
Traders resent decision
However, the city traders resented the new timings. They said that such decisions would not prove fruitful, rather they would slow down the wheel of already sluggish economy.
They also lamented that the government did not consult all the stakeholders (traders) while taking this decision.
They were of the view that shutting down markets early was no solution to the energy problem. They asked the government to find some other ways to sort this issue.
Reporters Azad Nehrio and Beesam Iftikhar