Businessmen and traders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said they would open markets on April 15 and warned the government that they would implement a layoff plan if the government extended the ongoing lockdown in the province.

The announcement was made during a joint meeting of leaders of industrialists and traders held under the chairmanship of the United Business Group senior leader and former senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour here.

The meeting unanimously decided to devise joint SoPs with consultation from government focal persons. They formed two committees to negotiate with the government.

The business community made it clear that if the ongoing lockdown was prolonged despite formulation of the SoPs, then the industrialists and traders would not pay federal and provincial taxes in the wake of economic challenges and financial issues, and they would also start laying off their employees and workers under prevailing circumstances.

Those who will represent the business community in talks with the government are

former FPCCI president Ghazanfar Bilour, SCCI president Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz, FPCCI vice president Qaiser Khan, former SCCI president Zahidullah Shinwari, Anjuman-e-Tajaran KP Chairman Shaukat Ali Khan, and Tanzeem Tajaran Peshawar president Mehr Elahi.

The members of the committee for formulation of joint SoPs are FPCCI vice president Qaiser Khan, IAP President Zarak Khan and former SCCI president Adeel Rauf.

The meeting made it clear that only the representative committees comprising industrialists and traders were authorized for holding talks with the government over a host of issues including the lockdown. The meeting further said that the poor shopkeepers would not put up with starvation caused by the lockdown anymore.