A virtually unstoppable spate of suicide attacks and bombings has shaken the nerves of residents of Peshawar, the capital of the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), hampering the cultural, social and business activities in the city.
“My nerves and confidence have been totally shattered, especially after the ongoing wave of terrorism which has rendered the city an unlivable place,” Hashim Khan, who lost two family members to a recent car bomb, told.
“Life has become totally miserable here. We have stopped coming out of our home unnecessarily.”
A suicide car bomber struck near a busy livestock market in Peshawar on Sunday, November 8, killing 12 people, including Abdul Malik, mayor of Adizai suburb.
The attacker detonated 12 kilograms of explosives close to the market, littering the road with the corpses of cows and twisted metal from ruined vehicles.
Though, the entire NWFP province has been in the grip of violence in the last few years, Peshawar has been the main target of terrorists.
More than 182 people have died only in October 2009 in different incidents of car and suicide bombings in Peshawar.
Some 118 people were killed and over 200 were injured in Peshawar on October 28, the deadliest attack in two years.
Security officials have been the targets of suicide bombers affiliated with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella of various Taliban groups operating in the northern tribal belt as a reaction to ongoing military offensive in South Waziristan.
Over 1500 Peshawaris have lost their lives in terrorist attacks since the US invasion of neighboring Afghanistan in 2001.
“I remember that a cameraman fell unconscious…He could not bear to see the charred bodies of the victims,” said Hussein.
Haunted
The spate of attacks is undermining cultural, social and business activities in the city.
Parks, shopping centers and bazaars, which used to be crammed with people till the late hours of the night a few months back, are now almost deserted.
An invisible fear seems to grip the citizens who try to finish their work as soon as possible and rush home to avoid the “blind death”.
Several security checkpoints and barricades have been installed on the entry routes to governor’s house, the chief minister’s house, cantonment areas and government offices.
“You never know when and where you will be hit, either by a suicide bomber or a blast,” says Khan, the elderly Peshawari who owns a small import export business.
“That is why we don’t go out unless it is unavoidable.”
The historical Kissa Khuwani bazaar misses the old days when turban-clad Peshawari Pushtuns would spend their evenings in small groups while having Kahwa, (traditional tea), dry fruits and mutton Karahi (local mutton dish).
“Gone are those days when we would sit and chat for hours and hours,” laments Khan.
“No one dares to sit in the hotels or in open air in the evenings now. We wrap up our work as soon as possible and move towards our homes.”
Imtiaz Hussein, a journalist, says the perpetual wave of terrorism has got on the nerves o Peshawaris.
“Not only the common people, but we (journalists) too have been psychologically affected,” he told.
“I remember that a cameraman fell unconscious while covering the last bombing. He simply could not bear to see the charred bodies of the victims.”
Hussein says Peshawaris face one terrorist attack and get ready for another.
“People have started forecasting terrorist attacks. Most of the people bet for Friday to be the most dangerous day keeping the track record in mind.”
Furious
The business community is particularly hardest-hit amid calls for the government to make some drastic changes in its policies.
“The entire business activities have reached the point of standstill. We sit idle for the whole day,” Zafar Khattak, the chairman of printing association of Peshawar, told.
He believes the business atmosphere cannot return to normalcy unless the government changes its policies.
“This all is because of the government policies. Playing national songs and empty slogans cannot resolve the crisis and the government must change its policies immediately.”
Haji Ihsan, a leader of the local traders association, agrees.
“I appeal to the government to leave this bloody war. Let Taliban and US forces fight each other. What is our business there,” an emotional Ihsan told.
“They (US) are killing innocent Afghans and tribesmen and Taliban are killing us.”
He scolds the government for failure to protect the lives and properties of common Peshawaris.
“The government is protecting the lives of its ministers and parliamentarians. It has left us on the mercy of terrorists and Blackwater,” Ihsan fumed.
“Who is here to save us, except Allah, who too seems to be not happy with us.”
-Agencies