Even though the car bazaar on Murree Road is technically illegal, buyers and sellers gather there every Friday with little fear of the local authorities.

Every week after Friday prayers, car dealers and buyers can be found between Chandni Chowk and Rehmanabad, searching for ‘fair’ deals.

A visit to the bazaar finds vehicles from as far back as the 70’s, all the way up to 2016 models. Everything from Datsun, Volkswagen and Nissan to Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet can be found at the Murree Road car bazaar, as well as sport utility vehicles. The arrangements for the bazaar are made by local car dealers. “It isn’t a formal bazaar, but car dealers park their cars in the area and local residents also park here so buyers can inspect them,” explained Khalid Mehmood, a car dealer on 6th Road. “It is easier to bring vehicles here to sell, instead of parking them at a car dealership or advertising in the newspapers,” a vehicle owner, Mohammad Akhter Hussain, added.

When asked about the illegality of the bazaar, Mr Hussain laughed. He said people come here to sell vehicles legally, and it was a deal between two parties. “We came here to show the vehicle to expected buyers instead of inviting them to our home,” he said. Raja Anwar, another visitor, said it was easy to purchase vehicles here than going to various houses. He said both parties could reach a deal without involving dealers.

However, a lot of people also complained that people were taken advantage of at this bazaar. “Car dealers mostly sell vehicles with faulty engines at this bazaar, or with the wrong registration papers,” Ahmed Malik, a local resident, said. “People should check the papers and the engine before purchasing a car,” he suggested. The bazaar has also created problems for citizens, particularly when it comes to traffic, and residents have demanded that the informal market be closed down several times.

Satellite Town resident Raja Shahid Ali said vehicle owners and dealers often park their cars in front of people’s homes. “Because of the crowd at the bazaar, it is difficult to use Murree Road and slip roads on Friday but the traffic police does not take any action against this bazaar,” he said.

Mr Ali said a number of vehicles are parked in the area for the whole day while customers roam around, bargaining with sellers.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Talat Mehmood Gondal admitted that there was a ban on the Friday car bazaar on Murree Road due to multiple complaints of fraud received by the local administration. He said the bazaar also caused problems for traffic, and the main road had been encroached upon by dealers and vehicle owners displaying their cars. Mr Gondal also said the administration has banned such activities in the city, particularly on the main roads, because they were a security threat. “The city traffic police was directed to remove the car bazaar. It is the duty of the traffic police to remove all the obstacles to smooth flowing traffic,” he said, adding that the area would be visited next Friday.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2016