Law and order: Lyari traders protest extortion

Protesters gathered outside Sindh Assembly as roads to CM House were blocked.

KARACHI: Traders based in Lyari decided that enough was enough and took to the streets to protest the deteriorating law and order situation in their neighbourhood.

Major markets and bazaars in the area remained shut as traders and residents held a two-hour protest outside the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday.

Shopkeepers from Jhat Pat Market, Gharib Shah Market, Chakiwara Market, Kumbharwara, Green Timber Market and goods transporters shut their business for the day to demonstrate against extortion and threats from Lyari-based gangs. As all the roads leading to Chief Minister House were blocked, the protesters marched towards the Sindh Assembly instead.

Around 200 traders started walking from II Chundrigar Road shouting slogans against the city's worsening law and order situation. "They [the gangsters] send us parchis [scraps of paper] asking for extortion regularly," said a shopkeeper from Gharib Shah Market. "They send boys and take whatever they want. Should we shut our business down or join them in what they are doing?"

Abdullah, another protester, said that extortion rates had gone up to Rs1 million. "Do we work for them?" he said, adding that the government was not providing them any security. "The law enforcers know what is going on but there is no one there to protect us."

The traders tried to meet ministers from the Sindh government but they failed as the police had cordoned off the area. The protesters and commuters were not allowed to enter the area. "This is the only way to protest," said a young shopkeeper from Jhat Pat Market. "It is too risky to protest against the criminals. They could get angry and react violently."

The protest was organised by the Lyari Tajir Ittehad (LTI). "Everyone living in Lyari is under threat," said LTI general-secretary Yousuf Baloch, while talking to The Express Tribune. "All we want is a secure future for our children."

Baloch was angry and disappointed when police officials informed the traders that they were going to meet MPA Sania Naz instead of Sindh Education Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. "No one wants to talk to the people of Lyari," he said, as he asked his fellow protesters to head back. "We [the Baloch] aren't even considered as equal citizens. The ministers could have spared us a few minutes."

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2015.