City markets, parks shut down in mourning

Traders association leaders promise all out support for crackdown against terrorist outfits

LAHORE: Most major markets and recreational places remained closed on Monday as the city mourned the loss of lives and injuries in the terrorist attack at the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park.

Traders’ associations vowed to extend full support to the armed forces in its ongoing crackdown against extremist outfits. Some urged the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to improve surveillance so that such deadly attacks could be prevented.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Anjuman Tajiran Punjab president Chaudhry Mahboob Ali Sirki condemned the attack on an Easter Sunday and said that his association would support all efforts by the armed forces to eliminate terrorism from the country.

Sirki, also the president of Ferozepur Road Traders’ Board, said traders had announced a three-day closure of business to express solidarity with affected families.“We will happily keep our businesses closed even for a month if it helps in eradicating extremist outfits,” he said. Anarkali Bazaar Traders’ Association president Muhammad Ashraf Bhatti said those responsible for the attack should be dealt with an iron hand.

All Pakistan Anjuman Tajiran secretary general Abdul Razzaq Babar said the blast had occurred due to a security lapse. He said it was because of the negligence of law enforcement agencies that such incidents kept happening in the country.

“The United States suffered from the 9/11 attack and the United Kingdom 7/7 bombing but they did not let such attacks happen again,” he said. He said the country had yet to put in place a mechanism to deal with terrorist attacks. “There must be some issue with our intelligence and law enforcement mechanism,” he said.

Lahore Traders’ Rights Forum president Sardar Azhar Sultan said terrorists belonged to no religion. “They are enemies of our country. The government should revisit its counter-terrorism strategy and launch an indiscriminate action against terrorist outfits,” he said.

The major commercial areas that remained closed on Monday were markets on The Mall, Hall Road, Circular Road, Ferozepur Road and MM Alam Road; Hafeez Centre; Liberty Market; Nila Gumbad; Akbari Mandi; Urdu Bazaar; Anarkali; Shah Alam Market and in Gulberg.

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) cancelled all its events including the ongoing Spring Festival on account of a three-day country wide mourning over the loss of lives in the attack. All public parks kept by the authority also remained closed on Monday.

On Monday, the operations of the Metro Bus Service were restricted between the MAO College and Gajju Matta terminals. The terminals from MAO College onwards to Shahdara were not served.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2016.