KARACHI: Chairman of Special Committee for Small Traders of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Abdul Majeed Memon has said that traders are under constant threat of harassment and violence and police should provide them with better security.

During a meeting with small traders concerning the law and order situation in the city at KCCI, he highlighted the fact that there was only one bomb disposal team in the city. Meanwhile, members of the committee vehemently demanded the government to provide them with arms licenses so they could remain protected.

He demanded that there should be trained bomb disposal personnel in every police station keeping in mind the increased crime rate and terrorist attacks in the city. Memon further said that small traders should remain united and be a form of protection for each other. He assured the traders that his committee would take the small traders concerns to the higher ups of the country.

Alliance of Market Traders Chairman, Atiq Mir condemned the murder of small trader Sheikh Saleem in broad daylight, while also condemning a bank employee’s harassment of his debtor, which led him to commit suicide.

Mir said that the culprits of both crimes should be caught and punished severely while adding that KCCI should encourage its members and other traders to take up Islamic banking as their mode of financial transactions to avoid interest rate related anxiety.

The small traders threatened that if they were not provided security soon, then they would go on a strike across the city to protest until their demands were met. They also condemned the killing of Saleem and urged that his offenders be penalised.