All Karachi Tajir Ittehad (AKTI) has called the Army Chief, Pervaiz Ashfaq Kayani, to take over the city's security as the government has failed to protect the business community from extortionists, robbers and abductors. Talking to Business Recorder on Saturday, Chairman AKTI, Atiq Mir, announced to begin a protest drive against the soaring extortion's, robberies and traders' abduction for ransom in the local markets.
He said traders would stage a protest sit-in in the first phase on Wednesday, March 7, against the rising crime in the city's different markets, risking the businesses' growth and posing life threat to businessmen community. "Traders have already set a 10-day ultimatum to the government to undertake immediate steps to make the local markets free of all sorts of criminal activities and assure protection to the entire community and their businesses," he said.
He also threatened the government about the indefinite period strike by traders if it failed to clamp down on the outlaws and meet the deadline. He said time has come to hand over the city to the Army to restore peace and security to the people and businesses. Atiq Mir said traders have big concerns regarding the government's inactive role to seize the unabated trend of crimes in the metropolis, adding that his Ittehad would never let the markets become slaughter house of businessmen.
He alleged the government of backing the powerful segment of the society and not taking action against the criminal clans in the city to restore peace, which showed that it is not interested in solving the problems of the country's financial hub. "Rising trend of street crimes is the result of government's failure against the outlaws which are free to loot the markets without any fears and flee at will," said Chairman AKTI, adding that carrying out businesses for traders had become almost impossible under the present circumstances. He vowed to continue the drive till the government assured them with airtight security arrangements and hunt down the outlaws. He also urged the judiciary to take notice of the resurfacing of street crimes in Karachi's markets.