Business community worried over proposed two weekly holidays

The business community has expressed serious worries over the proposal to observe two holidays in a week. They said observing two holidays in a week would create manifold problems and hamper business and industrial activities. They urged the government not to implement the proposal and to take appropriate measures in consultation with the business community to address the energy crisis.
They also urged the government to consider alternative measures for saving energy and enhancing the capacity of electricity generating units. They suggested that if the two holidays in a week was necessary then the export and import-related government offices including ports, customs and banks should be exempted from it. Because of the additional holiday in a week, businesses would suffer a lot. Not only the business community will suffer but it will also cause financial loss to the national exchequer.
Mohammad Ali, an industrialist from Site, while expressing concerns over the proposal, demanded that banks be exempted from two holidays in a week in case it was unavoidable. Abdul Majid expressed that nowhere in the world commercial banks were closed for two days in a week and even in the countries where 5-day week was observed, the commercial banks remained open on Saturdays.
Ramzan, an exporter, said that the government should exempt customs and banks from the two-day weekly off to ensure the export and industries operation. President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Mohammad Saeed Shafiq in a statement expressed concerns over the proposal and stated that Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular was facing unrest and in wake of persistent strikes, protest rallies and shutter downs.
Saeed Shafiq said that two weekly holidays in the country were not viable. He was of the view that permanent solution should be worked out to overcome energy crisis. He stressed that banks must be exempted from observing two weekly holidays for smooth economic activities. He urged the government to consult stakeholders before implementing the decision.