After the blast: Traders down shutters to protest terrorism

Nishtarabad shopkeepers announce a three-day mourning for victims of Monday blast.

PESHAWAR:

Nishtarabad shut down following the Monday night bomb attack. Almost all shops in the locality remained closed on Tuesday.

The traders announced a three-day mourning against the bomb attack. Shopkeepers in Hashtnagri and Sikandarpura also kept their shutters down for a day to show solidarity with the CD market union.

On Monday night a remote-controlled bomb, which was strapped to a motorcycle, went off in a crowded market in the Nishtarabad locality of the city, killing at least six persons and injuring 33 others. More than 20 shops were damaged in the attack, while a portion of a general store was gutted in the resulting inferno.

Police sealed off the site of the blast for traffic. Ahmed, a shopkeeper, told The Express Tribune that there were more than 200 CD shops in the market, primarily dealing in Pashto music albums and TV dramas’ CDs. “The market does business in millions, selling dramas and music albums. Thousands of people are attached with this business,” he said.

The market is situated in Nishtarabad Chowk, a thickly-populated area close to the Grand Trunk Road in the centre of the city, and is the largest market of audio and video CDs in the province.

All not as it seems?

Sajjad Ahmed, a shopkeeper, said the attack was meant for the bootleg businesses in the area. Another trader said the same, saying the traders in the CD market had received threats to put an end to the sale of liquor. However they were unable to do anything, as those involved in the business were under police protection, the shopkeeper alleged.

The shopkeeper said that even thought the police was aware of the whereabouts of the illegal activity they took no steps to stop it, which has led to the loss of precious lives.

However the Gulbahar police, who overlook the area, said they had no information on liquor businesses in the area.

Death toll rises

Meanwhile, the death toll of blast climbed to six, after a man succumbed to his injuries at Lady Reading Hospital. Medics at the hospital said that 11 of the people injured in the blast were still under treatment.

The blast came in the wake of the reports of a possible terror bid, which kept the city on its toes for around two weeks. Despite the police’s stringent security measures, terrorists managed to strike in the heart of Peshawar.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2011.