- Shops and shopping centers exempt from closing hours.
- Punjab and Sindh had earlier eased trade restrictions.
- Restrictions on energy conservation previously imposed have now been relaxed.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday approved the waiver of closing hours for businesses across the country until May 31, effectively allowing shopping malls to operate without restrictions imposed earlier.
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 allowed to continue operations beyond the previously fixed timings.
The decision comes after provincial governments had already relaxed restrictions on business hours. Earlier, the Punjab government had extended the relaxed operating hours of markets and malls till June 1, while suspending the mandatory 8 pm closing rule.
Similarly, the Sindh government on May 16 announced relief for traders and citizens, exempting markets, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and marriage halls from fixed closing hours in a bid to support economic activity.
Meanwhile, the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also followed suit, announcing an end to smart lockdown measures across the province and lifting restrictions on market timings and trading hours.
Trading hours were reduced across the country last month as part of energy conservation measures introduced amid a sharp rise in domestic fuel prices caused by conflict in the Middle East.
The measures, which were part of the federal government’s broader fuel conservation and austerity plan, were aimed at reducing energy consumption following rising fuel prices.
