Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) said that the government wants to conserve energy, which is a good initiative, however, he called upon the government to take a final decision on the business timings in consultation with traders, who are real stakeholders in the matter. He said this while presiding over a meeting of the ICCI Traders Committee.

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that the economy of the country is in a very bad state at the moment due to which business activities are shrinking. He said that due to the dollar crisis, the business community is facing serious difficulties in importing raw materials and goods. He demanded that the business hours should be finalized in consultation with the Chambers of Commerce, trade associations and the business community so that with a unanimous decision, energy can be saved and business activities can also be protected from further damage.

A resolution was passed in the meeting unanimously calling upon the government to take the Chambers of Commerce and trade associations into full confidence before taking any decision on business hours.

Group Leader Khalid Iqbal Malik said that due to shortage of dollars, the country’s imports have almost stopped due to which large industrial units are closing down. In such a situation, the government should avoid taking unilateral decisions and try to formulate a comprehensive strategy on an emergency basis to revive the economy in consultation with all stakeholders. He suggested that a big convention of traders of the federal capital should be convened to prepare consensus proposals for presentation to the government for the revival of business activities.

Convenor Traders Committee and former Senior Vice President ICCI Khalid Chaudhry said that traders use the most expensive electricity during the evening peak hours as they have to pay around Rs.55 per unit during these hours. He said that the government wants to save energy, which is a good initiative, but the government’s revenue of electricity bills may decrease due to reduction in power consumption during peak hours. He demanded that the government should focus on finding an amicable solution of this problem by holding talks with all the stakeholders and avoid imposing unilateral decisions.

ICCI former SVP Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Restaurant Association President Khurram Khan, Jinnah Super Market President Asad Aziz, Secretary General Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, E-11 Market President Zahir Abbasi, Abpara Market Secretary General Akhtar Abbasi, I-8 Market Secretary General Zahid Qureshi, and representatives of various other markets also spoke at the occasion and demanded the government should take decision in consultation with stakeholders to serve the business and economic interests of the country, which will yield positive results.