The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Monday urged Jamaat-e-Islami to withdraw its fresh hartal called for Wednesday and Thursday.
"The recurrence of hartals will create an adverse impact on the country's economy. Destructive programmes like hartal will bring the country's economy to the direction of uncertainty.
The business community of the country are worried about it. It cannot be justified to create anarchy and destruction of public lives and properties in the name of hartal," the apex trade body said in a statement.
The Federation said the ongoing 72-hour hartal (scheduled to end at 6:00 am Tuesday) is disrupting public life, production system, supply chain and regular activities.
Hartal affects upward trends of investment, remittance, export, import as well as domestic business. The hartal should be withdrawn, it said.
"The announcement of a fresh shutdown by Jamaat will adversely affect the country's trade and business and the economy," the statement said.
Jamaat called another 24 -hour shutdown for Wednesday to protest the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the death penalty to war criminal and Jamaat assistant secretary general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman on war crimes.
Earlier, it called a 24-hour hartal for Thursday in protest against the death sentence of its top leader Mir Quasem Ali.
The FBCCI said business and investment friendly environment is now prevailing in the country. The reserve of foreign currency, remittance, investment, exports and imports are witnessing a positive trend, which is encouraging the foreign investors to the country.
"To keep the wheel of economy running, hartal should be withdrawn," the statement mentioned.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com