By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s two largest provinces moved on Saturday to roll back strict business curfews imposed last month to conserve fuel, signaling a partial retreat from nationwide austerity measures triggered by a global oil shock tied to the US-Israel war with Iran.
Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon announced that the provincial government had exempted shops, markets, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, food outlets, wedding halls and marquees from any fixed closing times. The move, detailed in a government notification Memon posted on X, reverses a directive issued only weeks earlier that had forced businesses in Karachi and other divisional headquarters to shut by 9 p.m. every night, including weekends. “This decision reflects our commitment to economic growth, public convenience, and support for the business community, which remains the backbone of our economy,” Memon said in the post.
The relaxation in Sindh came one day after the Punjab government granted similar, though temporary, relief. On Friday, Punjab lifted its 8 p.m. market closure order until June 1, responding to protests by traders and appeals from shopping mall associations and the public. Unlike Sindh’s blanket exemption, Punjab’s order did not extend to wedding halls. The coordinated easing marks the latest sign that provincial governments are bending under pressure from merchants who argued that the early curfews were crippling livelihoods ahead of Eid al-Adha, the three-day Islamic festival expected at the end of this month and traditionally a period of intense commercial activity.
The restrictions originated in early April, when the federal government in Islamabad ordered shops, markets and malls nationwide — except in Sindh, which set its own 9 p.m. rule — to close by 8 p.m. Restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and wedding halls were told to shut by 10 p.m. The measures were part of a broader austerity plan to reduce consumption of imported fuel amid a worsening energy crisis.
That crisis began Feb. 28 with the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran, which disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and sent global fuel prices soaring. Pakistani officials described the early closures as essential to conserve costly imports and stabilize the economy. But the rules quickly met resistance. Traders across the country complained that the shortened hours were devastating small businesses and formal retail alike. In early May, Kashif Chaudhry, president of the Central Association of Traders in Pakistan, publicly urged the government to scrap the restrictions entirely before Eid al-Adha, warning that the curbs would compound losses during what is usually one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.
Sindh and Punjab are now the first major provinces to act. Officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said a decision to relax the rules was imminent. The Balochistan government has yet to announce any change. The federal government has not commented Saturday on the provincial moves or signaled whether it intends to revise the national guidelines. The patchwork response underscores the tension between Islamabad’s push for energy conservation and the political and economic realities facing provincial administrations, particularly in the run-up to a major religious holiday.
For many shopkeepers and restaurant owners, the change cannot come soon enough. The original federal order, issued April 6, had been framed as a temporary necessity. But as Eid approaches, businesses say the prolonged uncertainty has already dented consumer confidence and sales. Memon’s notification did not specify when the new exemption would take effect, though provincial statements typically apply immediately unless otherwise stated. In Punjab, the relief is explicitly temporary, expiring June 1 — just after Eid al-Adha is expected to conclude.
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