KARACHI: While there was no shutdown call, a sense of fear and uncertainty among transporters and traders caused many of them to keep their businesses closed on Thursday after an appeal by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for protest on Wednesday against a raid on its headquarters.

City life remained on edge with a large number of business centres shut most of the day and public transport on many routes off the road, while private schools also remained closed as the All Private Schools Management Association had announced a day ago deeming the shaky security situation.

“Actually there was a sense of fear and instability among traders due to yesterday’s [Wednesday] episode,” said Ateeq Mir of the Karachi Tajir Ittehad — a common platform of 350 wholesale and retail markets across the city.

“Though there was no call from any party, neither any market was forced to stay closed, the traders on their own decided to stay away from regular business in almost every district to be on the safe side,” he said.

Hundreds of people on motorbikes, cars and other vehicles drove along the body carried in an ambulance of the Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation (KKF) that passed through Sharea Faisal and then Gulshan-i-Iqbal to reach Azizabad.

The KTI chief said commercial activities resumed later in the day after a peaceful day lifted traders’ confidence. All key business centres including Jodia Bazaar, Boulton Market, Sarafa Bazaar, Kapra Market, Denso Hall, Katchi Gali (wholesale medicine market) and other wholesale markets resumed activities in the second half of the day, he added.

“But would you believe there was hardly 10 per cent of regular business today? The buyers did not visit markets due to their own concern and unavailability of transport facility. Also, CNG stations were closed as per regular gas load-shedding schedule that further made it difficult for the customers to reach their desired markets,” added Mr Mir.

Similar concerns were shared by transporters association representatives who said security fears and the Wednesday situation convinced their members to keep their vehicles off the road. “But public transport was operated on a large number of routes as there was no advisory for transporters from the association,” said one of its leaders.

He said: “There were some arson attacks on vehicles. Though no bus was set ablaze, such incidents caused a sense of fear among transporters and majority of them decided to wait and see. Shortage of fuel supply was also a major hurdle for those who wanted to operate buses. The vehicles started emerging on the roads but their number was fewer than normal days.”

Meanwhile, funeral prayers for slain MQM worker Syed Waqas Ali Shah were offered at Jinnah Ground near party headquarters, Nine Zero.

The body of the young MQM activist, who was shot dead during the Rangers raid on Nine Zero on Wednesday, was brought to Azizabad in a convoy from his home in Malir.

Following the funeral at Jinnah Ground, the body was taken to Shuhada Qabristan in Yasinabad for burial.

An FIR (78/2015) of Waqas Shah’s killing was registered at the Azizabad police station against unidentified suspects on behalf of the state under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn March 13th, 2015

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