KARACHI Two days into the assassination of MPA Syed Raza Haider and the paralysis that has gripped several areas of Karachi is far from over. The city's roads and main thoroughfares in its relatively sensitive areas remain largely deserted with a few private vehicles here and there. Buses that remain the public's chief mode of transportation have remained out of sight with people waiting on designated stands to be able to go to their destinations.
“I took a rickshaw from Taiser Town to be able to come to Gulshan-i-Iqbal but the driver refused to go beyond Sohrab Goth,” Sheherbano, who works as a cook and a cleaning woman in various households in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town, said.
“I have been walking since 730 in the morning just to be able to get here... there is no atta at home...nothing to eat...there are no shops open and we have also run out of medicines for my husband,” Sheherbano told Dawn.com.
The closure of shops and pharmacies in the several localities after the MPA's assassination is a feature that is common in the wake of most tragedies that have befallen the city, much of which is still undergoing a severe lockdown since August 2. While the city has seen and endured far worse, the sheer absence of open shops, pharmacies and functioning petrol stations in most of its areas has grinded the usually-vibrant metropolis to a halt. And while police and Rangers are “not encouraging fuel stations to open” on the pretext of the precarious security situation, the “combination of all these aspects give at least my neighbourhood a curfew-like atmosphere”, a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town noted.
Moreover, Aleem, a 29-year-old bank employee, and a resident of Karachi's Pir Ilahi Buksh (PIB) Colony said I went to work yesterday, though I wasn't sure about the law and order situation but today it's impossible...there is no petrol or CNG in my car and the gas stations would not open.
Separately, Zuhair, a resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar Town, who owns a clothes shop on main Tariq Road said he would “not take chances...even today”.
“Firstly, today I do not have the means to get to my shop and even if I did manage to get there somehow, I don't think people will come to shop...then there is also no guarantee for our safety,” he said.
While life in many localities of the city was at a standstill, there were still areas where things were gradually coming back to their standard, routine pace.
“Shops were slowly opening up but since people are not entirely sure about security, it is going to take some time,” said Hanif, a doctor, and a resident of Karachi's Mohammad Ali Co-operative Housing Society (MACHS).
Hanif, who works with a doctor's office in Karachi's Liaquatabad Town, feels “it's impossible” for him to go to the clinic today.
“I will find out again this evening if I can manage to go there...either this evening or hopefully at some point tomorrow,” Hanif said.
