Business community has estimated direct and indirect loss of around Rs 30 billion due to sit-in of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) at the Faizabad Interchange, which entered the 17th day on Tuesday. Talking to Business Recorder, representatives of different trade groups, transporters, pharmaceutical companies, electronics and other associations said that besides the direct and indirect loss, one sit-in after another had fuelled unpredictability and investors were reluctant to invest in the country.
Shumail Daud, former chairman Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) told Business Recorder "there are hundreds of plazas on Muree Road and in Faizabad and some plazas like Rabbi Centre have around 7,000 shops. Hundreds of thousands of small traders carrying wares on foot/bikes/hand-carts are suffering from a loss of livelihood."
Disruption of traffic was negatively impacting on the quality of life of thousands of people due to sit-in of the TLYR, he added. Daud also expressed concern that civil society and the general public might be so angered that they too came out on the streets in protest against the sit-in which might create an untoward situation. Mohammad Shahid of Awami Traders Rawalpindi said their goods were stuck on the roads and transporters were refusing to enter the city for security reasons. He further said that trucks carrying fruits and vegetables were also stuck on roads and the resultant loss to traders was in millions of rupees. Due to the sit-in at Faizabad, inter-provincial transporters have shifted to other localities, including I J Principal Road, Ninth Avenue, Pirwadhai and Karachi Company.
Loaded trucks going to different parts of the country are using alternate routes, including Zero Point Interchange, adding to horrendous traffic jams. The other three main roads between Islamabad and Rawalpindi - Ninth Avenue, Kashmir Highway near Golra Mor and Park Road - remain choked with traffic at all hours.
The country had reportedly suffered a loss of around Rs 800 billion due to the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) over 120 days sit-in in 2014, as claimed by the incumbent government. The supplementary grants amounting to Rs 760.5 million, which the government had to release to the Ministry of Interior to make elaborate security arrangements in the capital during the protests were also included by the government.
The government also claimed that the exchange rate which was Rs 98.82 on August 5, 2014 depreciated to Rs 103.19 on August 25, 2014, a depreciation of 4.4 percent as a consequence of the Dharna which raised the import bill. The development agreements worth $46 billion which were to be signed in September 2014 during the Chinese president's visit were finally signed in April 2015. As a result, the development activities were delayed by six months which were also added to the cost of the Dharna.