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KARACHI On Wednesday, more than 48 hours after a blast on M.A. Jinnah Road during a Muharram procession killed 44 people, sporadic flames continued to flare from burnt shops located between Denso Hall and Bolton Market. These are the lingering aftermath of riots and vandalism the erupted in the area in the immediate wake of the blast. Surveying the damage to their shops and stocks, affected traders are beginning to demand accountability.
Dilawar Naushad, the father of three daughters, was sitting on the pavement in front of his gutted shop of electronic goods with a lost expression. His was the only store in the entire Nawab Shah market that was destroyed in the fire. “There were goods worth at least 28 lakh rupees in my shop. I had put in almost every single penny of my savings in my business. But, now I've lost everything,” he says.
“I reached my store at around 700 p.m. on Monday after hearing that an arson attack was taking place in the bazaar. But, it was too late by then. There was no fire brigade present on the scene. I myself tried to douse the flames, but in vain,” adds Naushad.
Hamza, a young man who owned the only arms selling store in the area, the National Arms Company, was standing nearby, teary-eyed. “When I reached here at around 500 p.m., I saw a group of young men, between 20 and 25 years of age, ransacking and looting my store. Another group of around 50 and 60 people were setting nearby shops on fire,” he recalls.
“I don't know who those people were or from where they came from,” says Hamza, “but I want to know why it took the fire brigade so long to reach the spot at 900 p.m. The fire wasn't put out till the next morning.”
Farukh Mehtab, owner of Allah Wali Cap Centre, says that he and his family have been running the store in the same location since 1948. “Over three generations of our family have been selling caps - our store is famous all over the country. We had goods worth 50 lakhs which have now all gone to waste,” he says.
When asked whether he expected to be compensated by the government, Mehtab responds “Did they compensate the victims of May 12 or October 18 or December 27? I don't expect anything from them.” Mehtab complains that the authorities have done little to allay the concerns of traders affected by post-attack rioting on Monday. “All the officials, including the city nazim Mustafa Kamal, have been touring the area more for photo opportunities than to help us in this hour of need.”
Haji Sheikh Noor Rehman, owner of razed shops in Feroz market, has the bitterest words for the authorities. “I was here within 12 minutes of the blast. When I saw men breaking the locks of our shops, I pleaded with them and asked why they were targeting innocent people. The armed men threatened to shoot me dead if I didn't leave. The police and Rangers were manning the area; in fact, some were on the roof tops of our shops. When I asked them to intervene, they shockingly said they didn't have orders to do so,” he claims.
Rehman also wonders aloud how the looters managed to pass through the security cordon around the Muharram procession to reach the nearby markets. “Why did it take more than two and half hours for a fire brigade to reach the area? I ask you who is responsible,” he adds.
Mohammad Imran Kohlia is also dismayed by the slow response of the fire department. He stands with a shattered gaze in front of his six shops. “My seven brothers and I used to sell wrist watches, cosmetic items, toys, optical frames and other items to support our families and 25 children. We had 22 warehouses located above our stores, which have been destroyed, except for an 80 sq foot area.”
“The tragedy is that my building wasn't on fire when I had reached here at around 645 p.m. [on Monday]. We pleaded with the firemen to stop the fire raging close to our store, but they replied they had to refill their tanks. It took them more than two hours to get water. However, by 900 p.m., it was too late and the fire had spread,” explains Kohlia, who claims to have suffered a loss of Rs. 90 million, including property and goods.
“My biggest fear now is that I feel that the government may want to take over our property, which if you take into account the whole locality, is worth billions,” says Kohlia. “But come what may, we will resist any such attempt. We have been doing business here for generations and will continue to do so.”
Fighting fire
As displayed in the map above, the Saddar Fire Brigade station is the closest to the site of the blast. Almost all reported incidents of arson took place just after the site of the blast, at a signal before Subhan Bakery. The vandalism occured on the right side of the signal, at Lunda Market, Paper market, old plastic market, KMC building, city court, Denso Hall, and the area up to Memon Masjid.
At a distance of just two-and-a-half kilometers from the affected markets, the brigade's response time should have been far less than the two hours the traders claim it took for the firemen to refill their tanks.
Shahid Qadri, a firefighter with a 21-year service record, currently posted at the Saddar Fire Brigade, explains the delay. "Every year on Muharram, our vehicles are on stand by close to the route of the procession. On December 28, my firefighting team with one vehicle was near the Tibet Centre opposite the Mama Parsi School. As soon as the blast took place, we reached the spot within three minutes," he says.
"But the people gathered there attacked us. They started pelting our vehicle with stones and thrashing our driver. I threw my firecoat down and jumped off the vehicle. Since I was in civilian clothes, I somehow managed to save myself from the beating," he adds, going on to describe how the van then reached the safety of the brigade's headquarters.
After the incident, Qadri explains that he and his men refused to return to the attack site until the authorities assured them of protection. It took one hour for a police escort to be arranged, allowing them to reach first Lunda Bazaar and then Denso Hall.
Qadri acknowledges allegations that firefighters were nowhere to be seen at the scene of the fire. "The fire was widespread and it is true we couldnt be at all burning spots simultaneously,” he says, adding, “but its wrong to say that we were nowhere. We risked our lives too on that day."
Affected area
The affected area falls under the NA-249 constituency. It comprises old city areas, including Kharadar, Mithadar, Boultan Market, Ranchore Lane, Dharamsiwara, Nanakwara, Napier Quarters, Ramswami and Nabi Bakhsh Area, Jubilee Market, Pan Mandi and KMC Stadium in Saddar Town. Also in the constituency are some parts of Lyari including Saeedabad areas, Singoo Lane (partially), Sarbazi Mohalla, Lasi Mohalla, Mundra Mohalla, Bakra Piri, Allama Iqbal Colony and Usmanabad.
The majority of the population in NA-249 comprises Memons, Marwaris, Ganchis and Gujratis with a sizable number of Baloch, Sindhi, Lasi and Urdu-speaking people.
The MQM”s Dr Farooq Sattar won the election from this constituency in the 2008 elections with 103,846 votes. The PPP candidate, Abdul Habib Memon, came in second with 61,500 votes.
