Independence Day: Fear of violence dampens celebrations

K-P minorities keyed up, only few govt buildings decorated in Quetta.

QUETTA/ PESHAWAR:

Flash floods and flying bullets mark the nation’s 67th Independence Day, leaving little for the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to celebrate. Starkly different from the eastern half of the country, two of Pakistan’s provinces are not in a celebratory mode on this August 14.

Balochistan

Governor House, Chief Minister House, high court and provincial assembly buildings will put on a striking display to mark the country’s independence from the British. Decorated government buildings will house lavish dinners, where public functionaries will pose for photo-ops, in the backdrop of insurgency and militancy.

Apart from a few government buildings in the provincial capital, Quetta like the rest of the province is not keen on rejoicing Pakistan’s emergence on the world map. Fearful of blind rocket attacks by Baloch insurgents, which have become customary to mar August 14 celebrations, Baloch celebrations will be limited staying home, vigilantly.

Selling Independence Day paraphernalia like flags and badges is a risky job in the conflict-ridden province. Shopkeepers ensure the identity of the buyer before making a sale, Akramullah, a shopkeeper on Moti Ram Road, told The Express Tribune.

Shopkeepers on Moti Ram Road which is the main bazaar for Independence Day items’ sale is not decorated this time around. A grenade attack on an outlet selling celebration supplies has heightened the fear among Quetta’s vendors, being extra cautious.

Akin to a drug deal, the shopkeepers first establish that the buyer doesn’t belong to a Baloch militant organisation and then close the underhanded deal.



Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

National flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the Peshawar Police Lines in K-P followed by celebratory events in various government institutions to commemorate the day.

Commoners, however, do not share the same enthusiasm as the government officials as evident will the reduction in sale of national flags and badges.

“The sale of green flags and badges has reduced unexpectedly,” said Jameel Shehzad, a shopkeeper in Piplemandi Peshawar, adding, that shopkeepers had arranged everything in abundance, but sales this year were minimal.

Unlike past years when youths took to the roads on motorcycles to celebrate country’s gaining of freedom, the past abundance of the crescent-star flags in Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Khyber Bazaar, Chowk-e-Yadgar is glaringly missing.

What is encouraging to see is the heightened interest of the minorities in celebrating the Independence Day. Haroon Sarbdial, the chairman of All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement told The Express Tribune that they would urge the federal government to construct monuments of the leaders of the Pakistan movement. He added that their “willingness to celebrate proved they would never lag behind in offering sacrifice for the country’s progress.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2013.