The Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association has threatened to shut down restaurants across the country if "harassment and extortion" by the government's various institutions in the name of crackdown over safety measures are not stopped immediately.

If necessary, all restaurants will be closed indefinitely in the future, warned leaders of the association during a press briefing at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital's Segunbagicha today.

Imran Hasan, general secretary of the association, alleged that there had been no pause in the arrest of workers and the crackdown on restaurants even during Ramadan, resulting in a decline in customer footfall, which was further worsened due to negative publicity.