PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has withdrawn its decision to remove around 2,200 illegal shops along Shahi Katha, the main drainage line behind Qissa Khwani, and asked the relevant officials to resolve the issue with traders through negotiations.

According to a statement, directives about resolution of the issue were issued during a meeting of a delegation of Anjuman-i-Tajiran with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak at the CM House here on Thursday.

The local government department had issued notices to owners of all about 2,200 shops to remove them from the drain, following an order of the Peshawar High Court in this regard.

The traders delegation was led by its president Malik Mehr llahi and Shaukat Ali Khan, which also discussed with the chief minister matters pertaining to increasing threatening phone calls to them by extortionists.

The traders said that on the one hand extortionists had made lives of traders difficult, on the other the government had launched an anti-encroachment drive which would render thousands of people jobless.

Mr Khattak claimed that the government was determined to take effective steps for protection of people and solution to problems being faced by the business community. He said that protection of citizens was his government`s top priority. He asked the traders to keep a close liaison with the relevant officials to resolve all genuine issues with mutual understanding.-Bureau Report