The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front, while announcing full support to the traders, has appealed to the government to extend permission to the business community to run their businesses 24/7 till Eid-ul-Azha, reopening of all markets with strict implementation of the government SOPs to avoid spread of coronavirus.
PIAF chairman Mian Nauman Kabir, in a joint statement with senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed and vice chairman Javed Siddiqi, shown his serious concern over the Punjab government’s sudden decision of lockdown, saying it is totally unilateral and unexpected move, which was taken without consultation of business community.
It was better for the government to take the real stakeholders onboard before finalizing any plan of market closure especially on Eid days, he stated.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that partial implementation of SOPs was just due to the limited market hours, which remained closed for two days in a week.
He said that the Eid was an important event for the business community when business liabilities were paid off along with benefits to hundreds of thousands of people attached to different operations of the economic activities; hence, all economic areas should be functioning smoothly.
Mian Nauman Kabir also appreciated the government for taking the immediate measure to control the outbreak in the country.
At the same time, instead of creating an environment of fear and stress, we must recognize the symptoms and exercise as many precautions as possible, he suggested.
He observed that Covid-19 was diagnosed in China in Jan 2020 and till now no vaccine was available to treat the patients, and preparing a vaccine might take a long time, therefore; it was very important to get adapted to the situation while recognizing all precautionary measures such as washing hands very often, wearing face masks, and avoiding unnecessary contact with everyone, etc instead of shutting the businesses altogether.
