KARACHI, Nov 2: The city reverberated with the sound of firecrackers between the night of Thursday and Friday on the occasion of Shab-i-Barat.

Boys and street urchins had been exploding firecrackers in different localities for about 15 days before Shab-i-Barat, and it reached its peak on the night of the religious festival. Ironically, this festival has nothing to do with the nuisance of firecrackers.

On Thursday-Friday night, in the absence of a ban on sale and purchase of firecrackers, street urchins and anti-social elements became so bold that incidents of hurling of firecrackers inside houses were also reported from several areas of the city.

Over the past several days announcements had been made from mosques requesting streets urchins to desist from exploding firecrackers as it was an entirely un-Islamic and uncivilized practice. But anti-social elements remained undeterred.

The sale and purchase of firecrackers was banned every year under section 144 of CrPC by the district magistrates in all the districts of the city.

However, under the new dispensation of the city government, no such ban was imposed this year.

Police were not ordered to conduct raids on shops and warehouses to seize firecrackers and take action against buyers and sellers of these items. Open sale and purchase of firecrackers was witnessed in various parts of the city. However, police took action in some areas when people complained against the nuisance of firecrackers.

So in the absence of a ban on the sale and purchase of firecrackers sellers, buyers and users were left free to indulge in the obnoxious activity disturbing the sick, students and causing torture to peace-loving people.

The worst affected were those suffering from heart diseases. There was no one to stop the street urchins and anti-social elements.

The sale of firecrackers began after the moon of the Islamic month of Shaban had been sighted. In many areas stalls were set up for the sale of firecrackers. Both wholesalers and retailers did a brisk business and made handsome profits.

Several series of firecrackers exploded with a deafening sound at the doorstep of a house in Mehmoodabad which shook the house and caused babies to cry in fright, said residents of the house.

“My mother is a heart patient and the deafening sound of firecrackers was unbearable for her. I requested those exploding firecrackers not to do so many times, but they turned a deaf ear to my requests. So I called police,” said Bilal Ahmed, a resident of Liaquatabad.

“The night of Shab-i-Barat is a night to seek the blessings of Allah, and for people to pray to Allah to seek His forgiveness for our sins and the well- being of the Ummah. But the way Shab-i-Barat is observed by exploding firecrackers and disturbing those offering special prayers in mosques and houses and offering Fateha at the graves of their near and dear ones is an abominable act,” said a man who was offering special prayers in a mosque in Federal B-Area.

The DIG Karachi, Tariq Jamil, told Dawn that police took action, under the Police Act, against those disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of the city.

“We picked up a number of people selling explosive material following the seizure of firecrackers,” he said adding that had police not taken action against those involved in sale and purchase of firecrackers, the situation might have been worse,” he said.

However, no formal arrest was reported, as people who had been picked up were let off after being reprimanded.