A police squad headed by Gul Shaid Khan raided shops in Zainullah Khan Market and ordered them to remain closed till further instruction. As a result, more than 20 shops in the market and 20 in other areas have been shut down indefinitely.
The blast which occurred on Saturday night destroyed three mobile phone shops and injured a boy, Sajid Khan who worked at a nearby hotel. No loss of life was reported.
One of the shopkeepers, Akhtar Zeb, told The Express Tribune the shops are being targeted because they sold music and phone ringtones.
He said most of the shop owners belong to low-income families. “Instead of tracking down the perpetrators of the attack and providing markets with security, the police is clamping down on our livelihood.”
Zeb said closure of shops is encouragement for the attackers to enforce their mindset. Police officials, however, claimed the shops were sealed following complaints.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2014.
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