Faizabad casualty: The cobbler who was caught between protesters, law enforcers

Banaras Khan’s makeshift shop was gutted during the clashes on November 25

ISLAMABAD: Though life has returned to normal in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi after protesters of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYA) called off their three-week-long sit-in at the Faizabad interchange.

However, for one man, life has come to a grinding halt.

Banaras Khan, who is a cobbler, saw his livelihood literally go up in flames after his makeshift shop was burnt to ashes during the clash between protesters and law enforcers on Saturday.



“This makeshift shop was my only source of earning, feeding my family paying the school fees of my children,” Banaras told The Express Tribune.

“The moment I saw it burnt to ashes, I felt as if my world had come to an end,” he said.

He said that while for many it was just a makeshift shop, for him it was a mini-world from where he used to fulfil his families meagre dreams.

“I have been working here for the past 20 years. Gradually I was able to earn enough money to buy the tools for mending and polishing shoes. But in a second, they burnt it all,” he cried while standing next to a pile where his store used to be.

The cobbler, who hails from the Bajaur Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), told The Express Tribune that he used to pay Rs1,000 as rent for his makeshift stall near the Faizabad interchange.

While quaint, he said that he used to earn around Rs500 to 900 every day from the shop, enough to feed his family but not enough to have savings.

Distraught, Banaras asked what he had done to deserve such a fate, clarifying that he nothing to do with either the protesters or with the government.

However, those who lived and worked around Banaras’ makeshift store, who used to see him work diligently at the shop, came forward to help him.



Some shared pictures of his makeshift shop which soon went viral on social media. As a result, some people managed got him a wooden box to keep his tools, while others helped out with some cash. But these were insufficient for him to completely restore his shop.

However, several people on were critical of the government who have yet to compensate people like Banaras for their loss.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2017.