KARACHI: In the early days of August each year, Karachi residents throng to Paper Market on the busy M.A. Jinnah Road to buy flags, badges, and other decorative items in anticipation of the upcoming independence day holiday on August 14.
This year, the excitement is heightened due to the recent lifting of coronavirus restrictions on commercial activity.
Most crowded markets in Pakistan were shut down in March or could only operate with limited hours — until the government allowed regular activity to resume this week.
Ahead of independence day on August 14, residents buy flags at Paper Market in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 12, 2020. (AN Photo)
“Independence day celebrations are boosting the general mood and business,” Atiq Mir, chairman of the Karachi Tajir Ittehad, an association that represents 100 markets in the city, told Arab News. “The majority of markets were shut down on March 17. As the government has lifted restrictions, activity is picking up.”
“This year, more people are being seen in the [Paper] Market,” Mir said, “That may be because they are excited after almost six months of lockdown and restrictions.”
Ahead of independence day on August 14, residents buy flags at Paper Market in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 12, 2020. (AN Photo)
“The enthusiasm is more than last year,” a trader at the market, Muhammad Tanveer, said, adding that his sales were higher than previous years.
In general, however, flag wholesalers and suppliers say the reduced business season has limited their sales.
A woman sells green and while bangles, the colours of the Pakistani flag, at Paper Market in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 12, 2020. (AN Photo)
“Independence day-related business activities start from first of August but due to lockdown this year the business remained confined to only 4 days, from August 10 to 13, due to which large quantity of stocks remain unsold,” Shaikh Nisar Ahmed Perchamwala, managing director of a major flag producer, told Arab News.
A woman buys flags and badges at Paper Market in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 12, 2020. (AN Photo)
But other traders are more optimistic, and many vendors who usually sell other wares have set up shops and stalls to sell independence day paraphernalia at Paper Market.
“On other days, I sell dry fruits at Empress Market, but due to the seasonal opportunity I am selling bangles and clothes here,” seller Tulsi Das said, standing next to a stall of green and white bangles, the colors of the Pakistani flag.
Women buy green and white bracelets, the colours of Pakistan’s national flag, at Paper Market, Karachi, Pakistan, on August 12, 2020. (AN Photo)
This year, traders are also selling flags of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, known as Azad Kashmir, in “solidarity” with the people living in the part of the disputed valley that is administered by India, Mir said.
The flag of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan’s national flag being sold at Paper Market in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 12, 2020. (AN Photo)
