Sit-ins induced spiraling losses draw concerns

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PESHAWAR: The trading community from across the province has expressed concern over the ongoing sit-ins by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in Islamabad, regretting that the prevailing political impasse has been affecting businesses and national economy adversely.
Representative bodies of traders and businessmen from different cities including Peshawar, lamented that the marches had hindered economic progress and brought all sorts of business to a halt.
Talking to Customs Today Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Zahidullah Shinwari urged the political parties to show patience and tolerance for each other and resolve the issues through negotiations.
He said the provincial economy was facing loss of billion of rupees on daily basis due to the political unrest for the last couple of weeks, adding that traders and businessmen had stopped all their activities like import of machinery, export etc and following due to the uncertainty.
“The traders have been worst victims of the current political instability in the country,” he claimed and added that economic activity had become almost stagnant as 70 percent capital flight had been reported due to unrest and terrorism.
He said that KPCCI was a non-political entity and wanted only political harmony so that the province could flourish, adding that the rise in political temperature had negatively impacted the overall economic progress.
It is to be recalled that when PAT staged a sit-in on Jinnah Avenue in Blue Area in the federal capital in January 2013, the business community had suffered losses of billions of rupees due to unwarranted closure of offices, restaurants, and business concerns in Islamabad.
The ongoing Azadi and Inqilab marches by the PTI and PAT have also affected the exports of the country.