KARACHI: Traders in Karachi are on high alert after extortionists and criminal elements issued death threats to Sharjeel Goplani, Patron-in-Chief of the All City Tajir Alliance, in what the alliance has called a dangerous attempt to destroy law and order in the megacity.
Muhammad Ismail Lalpuriya, spokesperson of All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran, condemned the threats in the harshest terms in a statement, seeking the arrest of threatening elements. He said that the traders would go on protest if authorities didn’t heed their complaints.
He said Goplani is a longtime and fearless leader of the trading community who has always stood at the forefront in defending traders’ rights. He said the cowardly attempt to scare and threaten him would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Lalpuriya said targeting trader leaders in this way was a heinous conspiracy to destroy peace in Karachi and spread fear and panic among the business community.
The Anjuman demanded that the Sindh Chief Minister, the Inspector General of Police Sindh and the Director General of Sindh Rangers immediately arrest the extortionists who threatened Goplani, along with their patrons, and bring them to justice.
It also demanded that Goplani and other trader leaders be provided with immediate and complete foolproof security. It further called for all commercial centers and traders in Karachi to be freed from extortion, fear and forced collections.
Lalpuriya warned that if strict legal action was not taken against the extortionists at once, All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran would join hands with all trader organizations to announce a tough protest plan. He said the provincial government and the police administration would bear full responsibility for the consequences.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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