- Shops and shopping centers exempt from closing hours.
- Punjab and Sindh have already eased trade restrictions earlier.
- Previously imposed energy saving restrictions are now relaxed.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday approved waiver of business closing hours across the country until May 31, allowing shopping malls to operate without previously imposed restrictions.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, all shops, department stores, bazaars, markets and shopping malls will remain open on all days of the week without restriction on closing hours.
The exemption also applies to bakeries, tandoors, restaurants and grocery stores, which have been authorized to continue their activities beyond the hours previously set.
The move comes after provincial governments have already eased restrictions on working hours. The Punjab government had earlier extended relaxed opening hours of markets and malls till June 1, while suspending the mandatory 8 p.m. closure rule.
Similarly, the Sindh government had on May 16 announced relief for traders and citizens, exempting markets, malls, restaurants, hotels and wedding halls from fixed closing hours, in a bid to support economic activity.
Meanwhile, the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also followed suit, announcing the end of smart lockdown measures across the province and the lifting of restrictions on timings and opening hours of markets.
Opening hours were reduced across the country last month as part of energy-saving measures introduced amid a sharp rise in domestic fuel prices, triggered by the Middle East conflict.
The measures, part of the federal government’s wider austerity and fuel economy plan, were aimed at reducing energy consumption following soaring fuel prices.
