CD shopkeepers protest Tuesday’s blast
* Say they informed police of threatening letters, got no response
* Regret that no govt official visited blast site
* One victim of bombing succumbs to his injuries
PESHAWAR: Video and CD centres in the Nishtarabad area here remained shut in protest against Tuesday’s blast that killed a man and left 25 others injured.
Shopkeepers also blocked GT Road, but later dispersed peacefully. Office-bearers of the Nishtarabad video shops union said that they would meet on Thursday (today) to decide their future course of action.
Threatening letters prior to blast: Nasir, owner of the Fahad Editing Zone, told Daily Times that they had suffered a great injustice but no one listened to them. “We informed the police soon after we received threatening letters about four months ago,” he said. “Police told us that they could not protect themselves, so they could not protect us and our business. We received threatening letters seven times and were mentally prepared as we knew our business would be disrupted and the blast was not a matter of surprise for us,” he added.
Mukhtiar of MK CDs said that no matter how many times the shops were bombed, they would not quit their business. “We will either die of hunger or bombing,” he said. “We have invested millions of rupees in the CDs business and are not able to quit the job because some unknown people do not like it.”
No govt official visits blast scene: Abdul Ghafar, another shopkeeper, said it was regrettable that no government representatives had visited the blast scene. He said District Nazim Ghulam Ali should have visited the site, as the bombing was not a minor incident. He said it showed apathy on the part of the government.
Most people said that the Nishtarabad CDs market had become more popular after the Muttahida Majlis Amal-led NWFP government banned music shows and stage dramas at Nishtar Hall. This, they said, led to a boom in the production of dramas and films on CDs, especially in the Nishtarabad area.
Abasin Arts Council honorary secretary and columnist Mushtaq Shabab said the government should have reformed or censored stage shows and dramas, instead of banning them completely. He also said when the provincial government banned dramas and stage shows, people started producing obscene material in the name of dramas and music albums on CDs.
Blast victim succumbs to injuries: Meanwhile, a man who had sustained injuries in Tuesday’s blast succumbed to his injuries late on Tuesday night at Lady Reading Hospital. The deceased was identified as Shabbir Ahmed, owner of the Sawera CD shop.
Source: Daily Times
Date:10/11/2007
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