Islamabad sabzi mandi: A [un]usual day at the market

The Islamabad sabzi mandi that was devastated by an attack this month is home to hundreds of labourers .

A crate of guavas planted with five kilogrammes of explosives wreaked havoc in the lives of hundreds of families in the federal capital on an early April morning last week. The blast not only claimed 23 lives and injured many others but also tarnished the reputation of a market that is the daily destination for many.

Every morning, a throng of men and women flock to the sabzi mandi, located in I-11 sector, Islamabad, to earn their share for the day. They set up shops, selling everything from rotund tomatoes to export quality mangoes to customers from all over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Punjab.

PHOTOS: ABDUL QADIR MEMON

Over the years, children from the nearby Afghan refugee settlement have also become a permanent part of the mandi, making a living carrying bags that are too heavy for their young shoulders or cleaning up the leftovers after a long day. Every now and then, a rumbling truck rolls up with the day’s produce, drowning out the usual bargaining din between vendors and customers. Tiny stained cups with a saccharine milky concoction serves as fuel for a day that usually that stretches endlessly.

PHOTOS: ABDUL QADIR MEMON

As the sun sets, shriveled leftovers are packed up into wooden crates in the hope of finding a customer the next day. Tired labourers set off for their homes, only to return the next morning and start the grind all over again. But as security conditions in the country worsen, the fear for life now looms larger than the quest for livelihood.

Abdul Qadir Memon is a freelance photographer who has worked with the development sector and the government of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, April 20^th, 2014.