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KARACHI: Karachi’s traders have voiced deep frustration over heavy E-Challan fines, growing lawlessness, and the government’s failure to provide relief to the business community, as they pledged full participation in Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) upcoming “Ijtema-e-Aam” (Public Gathering) in Lahore later this month. The concerns were raised during a meeting of leading traders with JI Karachi Ameer Monem Zafar at Idara Noor-e-Haq on Thursday, where participants said the unjust fines, worsening street crimes, and rising operational costs were crippling trade activity in the city. Chairman Karachi Tajir Ittehad Atiq Mir said Karachi’s traders had endured decades of neglect, with worsening law and order, unsafe roads, and lack of government support. “Citizens are being killed in dumper accidents, shops are being looted in broad daylight, and traders are living in insecurity. This silence of the people has turned the city’s problems into a cancer,” he remarked, urging collective efforts to push for change. General Secretary of Cooperative Market, Mohammad Aslam Khan, said traders were being punished through unjust fines and new taxes. “The Sindh government has started imposing heavy fines in the name of E-Challans, while K-Electric continues to add new taxes to electricity bills without providing any relief,” he said. Arif Ismail of the Water Pump Traders Association said authorities should first fix Karachi’s dilapidated roads and create public awareness before issuing challans. “The fines must also be aligned with other cities,” he stressed. Sharif Memon, President of Bolton Market Traders Ittehad, said the city’s infrastructure and transport system remain in shambles while citizens are burdened with new penalties. “Instead of fixing the existing systems, the authorities are adding to people’s hardships,” he said. Other trade leaders — including Javed Akhtar (Gulshan-e-Iqbal), Intisar Ahmed (Landhi Cottage Industry), Younus Bacho (Kaghazi Bazaar Association), Aslam Bhatti (Tariq Road Traders Association), Mehmood Azam (Central General Secretary, Small Traders), and Mahmood Hameed (President, Small Traders Karachi) — also expressed similar grievances and called for unified action among Karachi’s markets. Addressing the traders, Monem Zafar said Jamaat-e-Islami had challenged the unjust E-Challan system in the Sindh High Court, terming it economic exploitation of citizens. He said JI would continue its peaceful struggle for Karachi’s rights and invited traders to join the Lahore Ijtema-e-Aam, scheduled from November 21 to 23. He said the event, being held under the slogan “Badal Do Nizam” (Change the System), would bring together traders, laborers, farmers, women, and youth to frame a collective strategy for ending the current oppressive system. The traders assured him of their full participation and announced a seven-member committee to coordinate their attendance. Monem Zafar said that unity among traders and citizens could transform Karachi into a model city. “Islam promotes collective action — if we stand together for justice and reform, no force can stop change,” he concluded. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
