KARACHI: Provincial Minister Saeed Ghani on Thursday said the proposals regarding reopening of shops will be reviewed by the Chief Minister Sindh’s Task Force.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, the All City Tajir Itehad (ACTI) deferred its plan to reopen markets from April 15 onwards after getting assurances from Commissioner Karachi and top police officials.

However, Ghani’s announcement shows the decision could be delayed further as the Sindh government is yet to finalise the standard operating procedures (SoPs) for opening of retail markets, shopping malls and other business centres.

Ghani further said that a meeting could be arranged between the chief minister and traders to discuss SoPs.

He said the task force would review traders’ proposals regarding online trading, opening of markets for two to three days under mandatory SoPs and opening of shops for various sectors on alternate days.

Meanwhile, trade bodies have decided to keep their shops shut on Friday amid ongoing negotiations.

ACTI General Secretary Ahmed Shamsi said that traders had sought permission to reopen shops during specific timings or announce alternate day schedules for different markets followed by request to grant permission for online sales.

ACTI President Sharjeel Gopalani said he had already provided a proposal relating to the required SoPs, while the Sindh government is also preparing its own SoPs for the markets.

In a separate meeting, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail assured ACTI delegation that their grievances would be resolved.

Ismail said that he would take up the issues related to taxes and duties with the federal government in view of the huge losses incurred by traders due to lockdown.

Traders informed the governor that K-Electric had started disconnecting power supplies in various markets due to non-payment of bills.

They also urged the Sindh government to provide loans to traders on soft terms to insulate them against the impact of shutdown.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2020