KARACHI: Despite a municipal holiday in the nation’s economic hub, which was declared in relation to Iranian President Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to the port city, several export-oriented sectors remained open on Tuesday.
However, a lack of labor and a road obstruction for the visiting dignitary’s security meant that several units were unable to reach their targets for production and exports.
Aside from that, the closure of major thoroughfares like M.A. Jinnah Road near the Quaid-e-Azam Mausoleum and Shahra-e-Faisal had also kept trading activity at the primary hub of critical goods, Dandia Bazaar, muted. This resulted in severe traffic congestion around the key thoroughfares.
People’s predicament has worsened in some locations due to the stoppage of cell phone service.
Holidays hinder business in Lahore and Karachi
An industrialist at the Korangi industrial area told Dawn that although the industries had received a holiday notice from the Labour Department of Sindh, exporters still needed to coordinate their operations in order to fulfill the shipment deadlines set by international clients.
The workers and laborers who arrived on the morning shift had departed their respective units, he claimed, and the afternoon closure of Shahrah-e-Faisal had created a scenario akin to panic. The second-shift labor was also unable to access the industries at that time.
“I’ve verified that these roadblocks have only reduced production activities and export shipments to 40%,” the man stated.
According to Jawed Bilwani, Chief Coordinator of the Value Added Textile Forum, almost 50% of the units in the Site area and adjacent industrial regions were closed.
“We experienced a 60 percent decrease in our production and export shipments on Tuesday due to security measures,” he stated, adding that the production and export loss in Karachi, which accounts for 54 percent of the nation’s total exports, could be approximated.
Similar reports of sporadic activity were also coming from Lahore, where a local holiday was declared in order to protect the Iranian president who was there. He asserted that Lahore contributes 20% of the nation’s overall exports.
How can exporters respond in a scenario like this? He made reference to the closing of the city’s main thoroughfares, which forced laborers living in remote locations to remain at home, saying, “I do not know what is going on in the country.”
Commodity importer and exporter Faisal Anis Majeed reported that only about 15–25% of the stores in the Dandia Bazaar were open since laborers and traders were unable to get to the area because of the closure of Sharea Faisal and M.A. Jinnah Road, which resulted in traffic jams. Additionally, a few merchants had not opened their offices.
While offering a cordial welcome to the Iranian president’s visit to Pakistan, Johar Qandhari, President of Korangi Association of commerce and Industry (KATI), expressed optimism that the visit will not only ease past tensions but also improve commerce and brotherly relations between the two countries.
He emphasized the need for a coordinated effort to strengthen economic relations and outlined the unexplored commercial prospects between Pakistan and Iran.
