PESHAWAR, Dec 9: The city traders have strongly reacted to the closure of entry points to various bazaars and shopping malls here by the district administration and termed the action violation of the agreement reached earlier between them as a part of Muharram security plan.

Representing the traders, Printers and Publishers Association (PPA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has appealed to the Peshawar High Court through an application to take suo motu notice of the closure of roads.

Referring to the closure of roads and streets such as Kochi Bazaar, Jhangi Mohalla, Saddar Bazaar, Khyber Bazaar etc the PPA president Zafar Rehman Khattak said that their business was already on the verge of collapse due to terrorism incidents and the road blockades would further hit the local economy.

He said that police had warned the traders of registration of terrorism cases against them if they attempted to remove the hurdles. He said that in such a situation they would not be able to pay wages to workers and utility bills and appealed to the PHC chief justice to take notice of the injustices made to them.

When contacted, a senior police officer said that the security steps had been taken in a state of compulsion, especially in the wake of suicide blasts in Mohmand Agency and Kohat.

He said that Peshawar was the main target of terrorists and taking such security steps were necessary to thwart any untoward incident in the provincial metropolis.

Reacting to the blockade of roads and streets, Anjuman-i-Tajiran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, president Haji Halim Jan told media persons that police and district administration had agreed in a meeting with them on Tuesday last that bazaars would be closed from seventh of Muharram for four days.

“In total disregard of the agreement, the administration has created a siege-like situation in the city,” he said and added that the whole city had been closed for 10 days at the cost of local economy.

He said that instead of closing roads the government should ensure foolproof security, as closing businesses was no security rather a 'conspiracy' against the traders.

“We are ready to cooperate with the authorities, but the administration should not push us to starvation,” he said.

Mr Jan said that the authorities should do their job on the 10th of Muharram when processions would be taken out. He said that thousands of people would be deprived of their livelihood by closing bazaars for weeks.

Another trader Taj Mohammad said that many roads where there was no imambargah and no procession would be held had also been blocked.

Such anti-trader security measures had never been taken in the past, he said and added that the action was meant to snatch livelihood from the businessmen who had been paying their taxes regularly.