Smoke and mirrors: Shisha cafés thrive despite ban

Former café owner says shisha is being sold openly at restaurants and cafés.


Ali Ousat November 15, 2014

KARACHI:


Remember way back in eighth grade when everyone used to skip O' Level tuitions and rush to shisha cafés on Zamzama to have the double apple or new watermelon flavours?


It used to cost around Rs200 and everyone in school was doing it. Well, 10 years later, the shisha bars and cafés are still going strong despite repeated attempts by the Karachi administration to run them out of business.

Now, the shisha is a popular choice at hangout spots all over the city, including tea shops, gaming zones and restaurants. These cafes don't just offer shisha," said Kashif Ali, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar. "They have gaming zones and big screens to watch football and cricket matches too."

Ali, who smokes a shisha regularly, usually hangs out at a shisha café on the first floor of Millennium Mall. He believes it's better than smoking up or doing some hardcore drugs.

"There is not much young people can do here," he said. "We don't have enough clubs or fun things to do. If the government shuts down these cafes, the youth will be forced to look for other indulgences."

Afzal Baig, a former shisha café owner, told The Express Tribune, that despite the shisha being banned in such places, restaurants and cafes still served it quite openly.

"Believe me, they cannot ban the shisha," he said. "The best way to deal with this situation would be to issue licences to certain cafés under certain conditions."

Hot spots

Shisha is openly served at restaurants and cafés in Khadda Market, Khayaban-e-Rahat's commercial area, Sea View, Boat Basin, Tariq Road, North Nazimabad and Hassan Square. According to Baig, in Gulistan-e-Jauhar alone there were around 20 shisha cafés set up with permission from the police and district administration.

Smoke it

The Sindh government banned smoking shisha in the province under Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code in March 2012 following the Sindh Assembly's resolution against smoking shisha at restaurants or public places in May 2011.

While talking to The Express Tribune, the general secretary of the Defense Society Residents' Association Aziz Suharwardy said that smoking shisha was a serious health hazard.

"The association has been receiving constant complaints from parents worried about their children getting hooked on shisha," he said. "DHA should continue these anti-shisha drives on a regular basis." He added that the government must ban smoking at cafés and encourage healthy activities.

Commissioner talks

According to Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, the city administration had started raiding shisha joints due to an increase in public complaints and media reports about the city's youth indulging in shisha.

He said that a grand operation will be launched this week during which the deputy commissioners will lead raids according to an outlined plan that will ensure indiscriminate action against those involved in breaking the law.

He did, however, add that not all shisha cafés were bad. Some, he claimed, offered a better alternative and a good environment for the youth. He said that these places would not be shut down. He added that selling shisha, on the other hand, will be declared illegal.

The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) spokesperson, however, said that no shisha café was running in the area. "We request to all our residents to report such places," he said. "We will continue issuing notices to all such restaurants on the reports filed by our vigilance teams."

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2014.

COMMENTS (1)

zaman | 9 years ago | Reply

After all a shisa is just a dressed up hukka, they should ban that and also smoking in public

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