Bring on the entertainment, Peshawar!

For six years, the situation in Peshawar was cruel, with people confined to their homes after dark. But now, people are seen wandering around, shopping, eating and gossiping.

The war against terror in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), in the years 2009-10, in which thousands of lives were lost and when the province played a role in handling insurgency and fighting terrorism, the government had announced the closure of bazaars and markets by 9pm, for safety reasons.

This Ramazan, a huge rush was witnessed, which included men, women and children. After seeing the lively atmosphere and high spirits, one could tell that peace had been restored in the city of Peshawar.

The traders and shop owners have earned approximately Rs0.1 million each night ahead of Eid.

There is no doubt that there is a lack of picnic spots, amusement areas, public walkways, parks and so on in this city and people have to travel to Islamabad or other nearby cities on weekends for entertainment.

The fact that we have no picnic spots, we, the people, take to the roads and streets at night for long drives or to dine out at eateries.

The opening of brand-carrying shops such as Agha Noor and Sapphire explains that the place is not backward and is keeping up with trends. It is encouraging to see that there is greater investment in the country.

We have a Deans Trade Centre which is arguably Asia’s largest mall, but when you go inside, you will be highly disappointed to see more tailors than brand shops.

Hopefully, we will see a mall where we could easily get access to MAC, Victoria’s Secret, Claire’s, Accessorize, an art gallery, designer outlets, retailer shops, a cinema, Tony & Guy outlets and other entertainment centres.

The only thing we need to make this city as lively as any other city of the country are more picnic spots, art galleries, book stores and public libraries.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2016.