KARACHI: As Pakistan gears up to celebrate its independence day on Aug. 14, national festivities have generated economic activity worth billions of rupees.
But according to importers and dealers, the country meets 75-80 percent of demand for celebratory merchandise — such as flags, badges, bunting and hats — by importing them from neighboring China.
“Although there’s no official data available, we estimate economic activities spurred by independence day festivities at between 10 billion ($81 million) and 20 billion rupees,” Atiq Mir, chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad — an umbrella organization of nearly 100 market associations in the port city of Karachi — told Arab News on Sunday.
Importer Abdullah Abdul Habib told Arab News: “This year, demand for stuff required for independence day celebrations has increased by 30-40 percent.”
He said: “The growing demand has been met by importing the required products from China since the local industry is unable to meet such high demand.”
He added: “The variety of products and the ability to supply them are among the main reasons why Chinese goods are in such great demand.”
He said: “The number of importers has increased, not only in Karachi but also in Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.”
As independence day approaches, the number of temporary vending stalls has increased. “I run a paper business nearby, but due to the high profit margin I’ve set up this stall at the main market,” said Sarfraz, a vendor at the famous Pakistan Chowk.
Purchases of clothes in green and white, Pakistan’s national colors, are surging, and websites are offering “freedom discounts.”
Pakistan came into existence on Aug. 14, 1947, with the partition of the Indian subcontinent, which had been a British colony since 1849.
Pakistan independence celebrations cause surge in economic activity
Pakistan independence celebrations cause surge in economic activity
- Pakistan meets 75-80 percent of demand for celebratory merchandise — such as flags, badges, bunting and hats — by importing them from neighboring China
- Online shopping websites are also offering incentive packages and special ‘freedom discounts’ to internet users
Pakistan police book man for wounding buffalo with ax in Bahawalpur district
- Complainant accuses a landowner in Ahmadpur East of attacking buffalo for straying into his fodder field
- Pakistan police register case against suspect under Pakistan Penal Code for injuring cattle
ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s eastern Bahawalpur district registered a case on Sunday against a landowner for wounding a buffalo with ax for straying into his fodder field, in another case of animal brutality in the country.
As per a copy of the police complaint seen by Arab News, the complainant Bashir Ahmad, a laborer and resident of the Ismail Pur area of the Ahmadpur East city, said the incident took place on Jan. 24.
Ahmad said he arrived at his home after work on Saturday to find that his buffalo had escaped. Ahmad searched for the animal along with two others he cited as eyewitnesses in his report. They discovered that the buffalo had strayed into a fodder field nearby owned by a man named Manzoor Hussain.
“During this time, Manzoor Hussain came with an ax and as we watched, attacked both of the front legs of the buffalo,” the police report quoted Ahmad as saying.
The complainant said the buffalo collapsed as a result of the assault. It did not mention whether the buffalo had died or not.
Ahmad said the suspect abused him and the other eyewitnesses and left the area after they arrived.
“Manzoor Hussain has committed a grave injustice by injuring my buffalo,” the report quoted Ahmad as saying. “I want action to be taken against him.”
Police registered a case against Hussain under Sections 427 [mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees] and 429 [mischief by killing or maiming cattle of any value or any animal of the value of fifty rupees] of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Local media reported the suspect had been arrested following the police complaint.
Animal abuse cases in Pakistan have frequently made headlines over the years. In June 2024, a local landlord in the southern Sanghar district was accused of chopping off a camel’s leg after it strayed into his fields for grazing.
The story, which triggered an uproar on mainstream and social media, led to the camel being transported to an animal shelter in Karachi for treatment. Six suspects were arrested by the police.
In another incident in the southern Umerkot district during June 2024, a camel was found dead with its legs amputated.
In July 2024, a man was arrested in Pakistan’s eastern Shahpur city for chopping off a buffalo’s tongue.
Pakistan’s existing animal cruelty laws, rooted in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890, prohibit various forms of animal cruelty, including beating, overdriving, and mutilation.
The legislation also prescribes penalties for breaches of these anti-cruelty provisions, which can include fines and imprisonment, though these are not always effectively enforced.
