KARACHI: Shops in most markets across the city remained open and public transport almost normal on Saturday despite a ‘day of mourning’ call by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement after it alleged that three of its workers were shot dead by the Rangers in a ‘fake encounter’.

From Clifton to Saddar and Kharadar to Garden, the markets were seen open. In MQM-dominated areas, too, fuel stations at intersections remained open with Rangers pickups parked right next to them.

At around 11am, shopkeepers in Saddar’s electronic market were found a bit reluctant to pull up their shutters, saying they waited for others to arrive at the market and take a collective decision.

Mohammad Waqas, 30, a mobile phone shop owner, said no directives had been issued by the traders’ union at the market. “The shops usually open around noon, so we have to wait for half an hour more just to be sure,” said Sajjad Waseem, a security guard near Waqas’s shop. In the same vein, he said he wanted to “acknowledge efforts of army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, as it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

Rangers arrest eight men for forcing people to shut their shops

Traffic could be seen on the road from Saddar leading towards Teen Hatti, but as soon as one entered Liaquatabad, it turned thin and most of the shops were closed.

Near the Supermarket in Liaquatabad, a group of workers were standing outside their closed shops. Most of them were waiting to hear back from their shop owners on what to do. Till then, none of them had received word from anyone of the shop owners they had approached.

One of them, Saeed Shiraz Ali, 33, said “not a single shopkeeper is willing to open his shop in the area despite assurances by the Rangers.” Other shopkeepers said that “so far shops in Gulbahar and Liaquatabad are shut”. “Rangers have been patrolling these areas since morning,” said Mohammad Muzammil, a resident of Liaquatabad 8 who has a shop in the Supermarket.

Just when this reporter was talking to the shopkeepers, a Rangers pickup and a motorcycle pulled up near the shops, and asked why the shops had not been opened. When the Rangers official was approached, he said: “We have asked them to keep their shops open but apart from a petrol pump near the Daak-khana stop, shops are closed in parts of Liaquatabad.” The Post Office area, in the middle of Liaquatabad numbers 8 and 9, remained open after a Rangers officer approached them but was later forced to shut by “armed men on motorbikes”, shopkeepers said. “It is easy for the Rangers to ask us to keep our shops open. But we have to live here. We do things based on how it affects us,” one of them added, refusing to disclose his name.

From Liaquatabad towards Azizabad, traffic was scant and apart from milk shops and tandoor, most others shops were shuttered. However, the main petrol station in Azizabad, close to the MQM headquarters Nine Zero, was open. Rangers and police mobiles were parked near most intersections. Around Mukka Chowk, a Rangers officer sitting in a pickup said: “We have been standing here since morning and have asked the residents to move around freely. Traffic in this particular area will resume probably after 4pm.”

Shops in North Nazimabad and Hyderi remained open and traffic was as heavy as on other days. Around 4pm most of the shops, which were earlier closed, including motorbike and car repair shops, and the entire marble market, also opened.

A member of the MQM Rabita Committee, Aminul Haq, said that “the people of Sindh respected the appeal of the MQM and kept their shops closed”. When he was asked about the number of shops that remained open in their own constituency, NA-246, Liaquatabad, he said: “They were forcibly opened by the Rangers. We have evidence that they forcibly opened a number of shops in our area, which is against the law.” When asked whether the party was considering alternative to closing shops, which adversely affected the traders and daily wage earners, he said: “We reserve the right to hold a peaceful protest. We don’t force anyone to close shop. They do it out of respect for our appeal.” He also insisted that shops remained shut in Landhi, Korangi and Orangi Town apart from many areas of Sindh, including Hyderabad and Tando Jam.

Rangers’ response

Reacting to the allegation of forcing traders to keep open their shops in parts of Karachi, a Rangers spokesperson said: “It’s hilarious. We didn’t force anyone to open shops but were on standby to provide as much security to the people as we could.” He added that the Rangers also arrested eight men in different parts of Karachi over “pressuring people to shut shops”.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2015

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