Pindi gripped by aerial firing, chaos on I-Day

Residents of Rawalpindi city and the cantonment openly defied restrictions imposed by the district administration and police during Pakistan's 78th Independence Day celebrations, rendering the prohibitions meaningless.

Aerial firing left eight people injured, while a firework projectile killed an infant girl.

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday and Thursday, the police and administrative authorities appeared to vanish, as widespread aerial firing broke out across every neighbourhood, including areas adjoining police lines and sensitive installations.

Young revellers climbed onto the rooftops of houses, plazas, and shops, discharging sustained gunfire into the air. Fireworks and firecrackers illuminated the night sky, while deafening horns blared along streets, bazaars, and major arteries such as Murree Road, Rawal Road, Raja Bazaar, and Mall Road.

The festivities, however, turned tragic when an eight-month-old girl, Zaml, was fatally injured by a firework projectile and later died in hospital. Eight others were wounded by stray bullets.

For 15 to 20 minutes, the entire city reverberated with the crackle of gunfire, despite an official ban on aerial firing.

The authorities responsible for enforcing the prohibition were nowhere in sight. The shooting commenced at the stroke of midnight and continued without pause, accompanied by fireworks — despite a government ban on private displays.

Ironically, the district administration itself organised an official firework display at Liaquat Bagh, during which Zaml, attending with her father, was struck by a firework shell and later died at a hospital.

A woman from Dhoke Ratta was also brought to a hospital in critical condition after being injured in the gunfire. At the same time, young men sped along Murree Road, Rawal Road, Saidpur Road, Commercial Market, and around Giga Mall, having removed the silencers from their motorbikes to produce explosive roars, performing dangerous wheelies.

The revelry lasted until 1am, with some families joining in from cars and open jeeps, blaring oversized horns at maximum volume. The ban on the sale and use of such horns was openly ignored.

From midnight until the early hours, every street and alley echoed with Chinese firecrackers and sporadic gunfire, while police remained inside their stations. Senior police officials, along with the district administration and the City Police Officer (CPO), had concentrated resources on monitoring a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally instead. Even there, the police failed to maintain order, retreating before large crowds as PTI activists freed six detained members from police custody at Chandni Chowk.

Against the backdrop of record inflation, many ordinary citizens appeared disengaged from Independence Day celebrations. Few homes in neighbourhoods or residential lanes displayed flags, lights, or buntings. The illumination of Murree Road and Katchery Chowk was arranged solely by government departments, while market traders reduced decorative lighting by around 70%.