Traders protest against 'economic murder'.

MULTAN -- The traders staged on Tuesday a big protest demonstration at Chowk Ghanta Ghar against MDA and district administration for demolishing and sealing markets declaring them illegal.

The protesters sealed the major Chowk of Multan from all directions and staged a sit-in. They carried out non-stop sloganeering against the government, and warned that they would seal all areas of Multan if the ongoing operation against encroachments was not stopped worth with.

Speaking on this occasion, chairman of All Pakistan Anjuman Tajiran Kh. Suleman Siddiqui, Sheikh Javed Akhtar, Sheikh Akram Hakim, Arif Faseeh Ullah, Khalid Mehmood Qureshi and others said that the gamut of protest would be extended to entire South Punjab if the ongoing operation was not stopped.

They said that the government committed financial murder of traders which was highly condemnable. They said that the bureaucracy misled the government and it was a conspiracy against PTI.

They warned that if the shops of Zakariya Centre were not returned to the traders, Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Multan would be responsible for the law and order situation.

They pointed out that the traders were doing business in Zakariya Centre for the last 30 years and they paid their rent regularly but the administration deprived them of their businesses by sealing their shops.

They said that the government came into power in the name of change but this change was beyond people's comprehension. They demanded Governor and Chief Minister Punjab to listen to the requests of traders and allow them to continue their business in the Zakariya Centre on new contracts. "If our shops are not returned we'll encircle Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner's offices," they warned.

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