PESHAWAR: Once the capital of smuggled goods, Khyber Agency’s militancy-hit Bara Bazaar reopened this month after seven years for business.

Cheerfully tapping a beat on his silver pot, Sehar Gull, a cooked rice seller, is happy despite the dramatically decreased volume of his business. Though his shop is destroyed and he borrowed to restart his business, he is happy that Bara Bazaar has reopened.

Read more: The ‘joy and pain’ of Bara traders

"I remember I sold 35 kg on the last day when the bazaar closed [due] to militancy, and today on the first day of reopening I sold five kilos of cooked rice. But I am happy that the bazaar has reopened," Sehar Gull said with a smile.

Bara Bazaar has remained closed since September 2009. On Feb 5, Khyber Agency’s political administration reopened Bara Bazaar for business activities.

Although the bazaar is open, it is a ruin. The main Bara gate, a keystone of the bazaar’s identity, has disappeared. Nearly all the shops in the first stretch of the long bazar have been destroyed, with some saying the gutted shops are nearly 2,000.

Wali Gul, a butcher injured in a bomb blast in front of his shop in 2009, started selling beef again after seven years in his old repaired shop.

He said no one helped him while the bazaar was closed he has been jobless since.

According to Bara Bazaar union secretary general Syed Ayaz, there were 11,500 shops in total in Bara in 2009 and sales in the market were at Rs20 million a day. But during the militancy and subsequent operations, 1,800 shops were completely destroyed, while the remaining were partially damaged.

Syed Ayaz said 8,000 applications seeking compensation for damages have been filed with the political administration, but not a single one has been entertained. The union secretary general demanded a financial package and soft loans of up to Rs100,000 to compensate each owner as early as possible.

Traders also lost goods stocked in shops and warehouses when the bazaar was suddenly closed down, suffering further financial setback.

Satbeer Singh, a Sikh community member who had come in to open his cosmetics shop, said that in 2009 he had nearly Rs100,000 worth of goods in stock. Now that seven years have passed, everything is expired. He also demanded a financial package from the government.

Future plans

The political agent for Khyber Agency Shahab Ali Shah emphasised that Bara Bazaar is historically significant as a regional business hub. Keeping in view its historical and international fame it felt important to rebuild Bara Bazaar on latest and modern lines.

Shahab Ali Shah said a two-phase master plan has been approved for new development, which will not be confined to the bazaar.

In the first phase, the historical Bara entry gate, municipal office, and rescue services will be developed. The second phase will see the construction of the fruit and vegetable markets, bus stand, and a sports stadium. Shahab said both phases will take at least Rs950 million and two years to complete.

The road leading to the market has been widened from 52 feet to 96 feet so that the Matani and Thait Baig roads can be connected to Afghanistan via Bara. Bara Bazaar has been given municipal status and an economic zone will also be established.

Regarding the union secretary general’s claims, the political agent said 5,000 applications seeking damages have been received and the applicants will be compensated shortly.

Shahab also claims that many of the destroyed shops were demolished while clearing encroachments for the road widening project, and not due to militancy.

Throughout the bazaar shopkeepers are busy with rebuilding their shops ─ and their lives. While the traders are satisfied with peace, they worry about establishing their business without financial assistance.