ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government on Monday said it had removed restrictions on timings of markets, shopping malls, bakeries, grocery shops and restaurants, which were imposed under an energy conservation drive, till May 31.
In early April, the government ordered shops, markets and shopping malls to close by 8pm, while restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and wedding halls were directed to shut down by 10pm as part of an austerity plan to conserve costly imported fuel.
The South Asian country announced the austerity measures to address a worsening fuel crisis triggered by widespread energy supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.
The measures were widely criticized by traders’ representatives in recent weeks who demanded the government ease the restrictions to allow traders to normally run businesses ahead of the Eid Al-Adha festival, due to be celebrated on May 27.
“The prime minister has been pleased to exempt, with immediate effect and till 31st May, 2026, the following entities from the applicability of closure timings specified vide Cabinet Division notification of even number dated 6th April,” the Cabinet Division said in a notification, mentioning all shops, departmental stores, bazaars, markets, shopping malls, bakeries, tandoors, restaurants and grocery stores as entities exempted from the restrictions.
The announcement by the federal government came days after the Sindh and Punjab provinces relaxed the restrictions in their jurisdictions.
While the Sindh government did not specify a time period, Punjab said it was easing limit on business hours till June 1.
Earlier this month, Kashif Chaudhry, president of the Central Association of Traders in Pakistan, had urged the government to completely lift the restrictions ahead of Eid Al-Adha.
The three-day Eid Al-Adha, one of the two biggest annual Islamic festivals, is typically marked by heightened commercial activity.
