A delegation of Traders Welfare Association, I&T Centre, G-8/1, Islamabad led by Senior Vice President Nasir Chaudhry met with Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and apprised him of the problems being faced by the traders due to sealing of some shops in I&T Centres. Ajmal Baloch, President, All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran and Traders Action Committee Islamabad, Khalid Chaudhry Secretary and others were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the delegation, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the current situation demanded that promoting the ease of doing businesses should be the top priority of all relevant departments to facilitate the growth of business activities, save the people from unemployment and steer the economy out of current challenges. However, sealing of some shops in I&T Centres by CDA has created a lot of concerns in the trading community. He appealed that CDA should reconsider this approach to seal shops in I&T Centres as it would deprive many traders of their livelihood and increase unemployment.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that already businesses were facing great problems due to Covid-19 pandemic and in these conditions, sealing of some shops would increase the difficulties of the trading community. He said that instead of sealing shops, CDA in consultation with ICCI and concerned market associations should work out a better solution to this issue. "If someone is doing legal business, instead of shutting down such businesses, efforts should be made to explore a legal solution of such cases," he said.
Ajmal Baloch, President, All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran said that in the current difficult circumstances, such drastic measures should be avoided as they would damage business activities and create more problems for the economy. He said that shops set up 40 years ago are now being declared illegal which is not a right approach. He said that if the CDA did not resolve the issue amicably, traders would have no other options exempt to launch strong protests against such actions. Therefore, the CDA should review its policy and avoid actions that would cause more harm to the business activities.
Nasir Chaudhry, Senior Vice President, Traders Welfare Association, I&T Center, G-8/1, Islamabad said that the process of sealing the shops has taken place in the constituency of Ali Nawaz Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on CDA Affairs, so he should take notice of the situation and issue orders to the responsible authorities in CDA to refrain from actions that would prove more harmful for the local economy.