Punjab Industries and Trade Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal on Tuesday said that they permitted the opening of markets on the request of traders community, but they did not live up to their expectations.
"Seeing the crowd of people in Anarkali, Township, Icchra and other markets presents horrifying spectacle," he Minister expressed these views while talking to traders at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). President of LCCI Irfan Iqbal Sheikh was also present on this occasion.
The Minister said that traders did not act upon the SOPs and put the lives of citizens at stake for the sake of minting little money. He warned that if the SOPs are not implemented in letter and spirit then re-imposition of lockdown cannot be averted. Iqbal said that if a Coronavirus case surfaces in a market then they will close it down. He urged the traders to fully implement the SOPs and they should also depute security guards at the entry points of the markets. He further added that traders will also have to ensure the Coronavirus testing of their staff members. He appealed to the citizens to abstain from bringing children to the markets and also asked the traders to follow the precautionary measures.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the All Pakistan Shopping Malls Association held a meeting with the Minister and discussed problems pertaining to the closure of shopping malls owing to lockdown. The delegation members expressed their concerns that business activity is likely to be affected due to closure of shopping malls and added that thousands of employees will face financial hardship and unemployment due to the closure.
They further emphasized that shopping malls industry is contributing billions of rupees to the national economy and exchequer by paying taxes. They urged the government to review its decision about closing down shopping malls and should grant them a permission to open them for business. They also assured the Minister of strictly implementing the SOPs and adopting the precautionary measures.
Iqbal maintained that the decision to relax the lockdown was taken after taking into account the financial difficulties the people were facing and he is fully aware of the strains arising due to closure of shopping malls. The Minister assured the delegation members to bring their problems into the notice of the federal government. He hoped that with the grace of Allah Almighty we will soon get out of prevailing difficult situation and business activities will be fully restored.
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