July 30, 2007	Monday	Rajab 14, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 29: Tighter security measures were taken at all weekly bazaars in the city on Sunday in view of the recent suicide attacks which killed dozens of people and injured many more.

Security guards stood vigilant more than ever and frisked and scanned with metal detectors the visitors. Entrances of the popular Itwar bazaars were narrowed down purposely to facilitate the process of checking.

The heavy security seemed to make the gloom that the recent bloody events had brought to the city and its dwellers heavier.

This feeling was most evident at the makeshift Itwar bazaar set up at G-7/1 as an alternative to the one that used to be held near Lal Masjid and had been closed down for renovation long before the Lal Masjid standoff exploded into violence.

The bloody aftermath of the Masjid haunted other Itwar bazaar sites too.

“Now fear chases you everywhere. Such is the level of insecurity that no one can be trusted,” said Ghulam Ali, a fruit seller at the Itwar Bazaar near Peshawar Mor, G-9 Sector.

He missed the time when youngsters would visit the bazaar just to enjoy the air of a Mela that the bazaars wore.

“Then, the only fear you had was of the pickpockets. Now the fear of bloodshed and bomb blasts haunts you in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid. After all crowded places like Itwar bazaars would look a soft target to the suicide bomber as proven by the carnage at Aabpara market last Friday”.

Stallholders in the Itwar bazaars said the fear of suicide attacks has scared away customers. The economic loss that the situation has caused is yet to be calculated but would be very heavy if the situation persisted, they said.

Businesses needs an atmosphere of peace and security. Many of them, however, felt their sales were still satisfactory despite the drop in the number of customers. They hoped that things would settle down soon.

The reason they gave for the satisfactory sale was the fact that many families who used to shop at Itwar bazaar now send their servants instead. Those who keep no servant still come — but without children.

“I can show you many cooks and chowkidars now visiting the market alone. In the good old days, they used to be following their Sahibs,” said stallholder Hakim Jamal.

He also recognised many mothers who used to have their children in tow with them. “This Sunday they are all alone”.

Some visitors admitted to Dawn that now they prefer to shop in a hurry.

“I had the habit of visiting even those stalls where I did not intend to buy anything. I enjoyed window shopping. But no more. Now I want to leave the bazaar as quickly as possible,” said Jawad Khan, a customer.

The charm of these bazaars is the price difference. Things are cheaper there than the regular markets. Usually fruits and vegetables being sold in these markets are fresh. This also is an attraction to customers.

“The fruit shop near my apartment sells apricots at Rs65 per Kg. Here you can buy them for Rs40 per kilograms. It is quite a difference,” said Mohammad Ihsan, a resident of the nearby G-8 Markaz.