Decision to keep shops open till late night hailed

The business community has hailed the federal cabinet for allowing the trading community to keep their shops open till late night. The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) office bearers, President, Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Senior Vice President, Ijaz A Mumtaz, Vice President, Faisal Iqbal Sheikh, LCCI former President Iftikhar Ali Malik and President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tijran Haji, Maqsood Butt in a joint statement on Thursday appreciated the federal cabinet for accepting the LCCI demands in this regard.
The cabinet has taken a wise decision by allowing the traders to keep their shops open till 9pm and beyond by using generators. It would have a good impact on economy, as it is not the trading community alone that would get benefit out but the industrial productions would also improve, they said. "The early closure of shops and shopping malls has disturbed the businessmen", they added.
The office bearers said the federal cabinet decision is not only a great compensation to the already recession-hit business community but it was a big favour to the masses who would now be able to make their purchases even after Taraveeh prayers. "It is a matter of only one month. Allowing them to continue business till late night is a nice Ramazan package for the trading community. It would also ensure some relief to the workers attached with big shopping malls as they would be working extra hours earning some more money for their families", they maintained.
"It is a common phenomenon in Pakistan that in the holy month of Ramazan families go out for shopping late in the night because during the day most of the population fasts, they said. The LCCI office bearers, however, hoped that the federal cabinet would further extend the closing time, as most of the city markets that have no link with Eid shopping, would close their businesses even much before Magrib prayer. They thanked the Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif who took special care of the business community's demand when their attention was drawn towards this issue through letters.