Leading economist Qais Aslam said that the traders of Hafeez Center were hiding crores of rupees from their wives and keeping them in shops.
A fire at the Hafeez Center on Sunday reduced 222 out of 904 shops to ashes. The fire burned mobile phones, laptops and other valuables, including computers, while rescue workers found large amounts of burnt cash.
Muhammad Shehzad Bhatti, vice-president of Hafeez Center Traders League, said that crores of rupees in cash were in the shops. Many shops also had cash of Rs 20 to 30 lakh.
Speaking to the website Independent Urdu, Qais Aslam said that every shop has at least Rs 100,000 in cash while big stores have more cash. Most merchants make direct cash transactions to avoid taxes, which leads to ample cash in stores.
He claimed that there was a risk of robbery when traders took cash out of the shop, adding that some people did not want to tell their wives how much money they had.
