LAHORE: There was reduced traffic on roads and not much rush at markets and restaurants on Friday.

Most schools in Lahore remained closed and the few which opted to have a usual day saw thin attendance.

“Most of our council member schools remained closed on Friday due to panic gripping the city after Thursday’s blast. They will resume work on Monday,” Pakistan Education Council’s spokesman Kamran Malik told Dawn.

Muhammad Tayyab, a salesman at a cloth shop in Gulberg’s Mini Market, said there was thin presence of people in the market on Friday. Tayyab said he also visited Moti Bazaar near Azam Market and found there were not much customers around.

The owner of an eatery said the present situation had badly affected his business. “The number of customers has reduced especially after Thursday’s explosion and hoax call.”

Lahore Restaurant Owners Association President Ahmad Shafiq said a number of eateries in DHA and some other parts of the city remained closed. Those that were open didn’t have many customers. “These tragic incidents disrupt the routine business of food shops,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2017