News Desk
Islamabad’s business community has welcomed the removal of containers, reopening of roads and return of normal commercial activity. It is demanding that the federal capital be declared a sit-in-free city to prevent future disruption from political protests.
The demand came at a meeting chaired by former ICCI president Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari. Attendees included Yousaf Rajpoot (Blue Area traders), Asad Aziz (Jinnah Super Market), Naeem Akhtar Awan (G-11 Markaz) and Zahir Abbasi (E-11). They thanked Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for steps toward restoring normalcy.
Bakhtawari said weeks of road closures, checkpoints and movement restrictions had turned Islamabad into a “city of containers”. This caused financial losses and hardship for traders, employees, transporters and families, he said, and damaged the image of Islamabad and Pakistan among investors and visitors.
While recognising the right to peaceful protest, he said political activity must not deprive citizens of free movement or stop traders from doing business. He urged the government to introduce a permanent mechanism so that commercial life is not held hostage to political disputes.
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