Light rain showers in Karachi since Sunday afternoon turned the weather pleasant and brought back smiles on the faces of the people of the city who are still reeling from the recent wave of possibly the worst-ever incidents of violence. Shopping for Eidul Fitr, which was suspended for almost a week due to violent events across the city, has been restored at major shopping malls to some extent as the rain seems to have brought back the spirit of Eid among the people of the metropolitan.
A large number of families stepped out of their houses and rushed to the major markets and shopping malls to do their Eid shopping. Though incidents of violence continued in some parts of the city, most people left the safety of their houses to enjoy the light showers. Markets, shopping malls and commercial hubs usually remain crowded by shoppers in the last half of Ramazan, but due to the fresh wave of violence, including target killings, they were deserted as the people of the metropolis were gripped by intense fear.
However, it seems that the rain has washed away all the fears of the people who have started shopping for Eid and found a reason to smile again. “Every year in Ramazan, we get a lot of customers, but the worst-ever incidents of violence hit the city and customers disappeared from the markets. However, the people have started shopping again,” said a shopkeeper at the Zainab Market.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) recorded 11 millimetres rain at the Jinnah International Airport, 7 millimetres in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, 1 millimetre in Saddar Town and 5 millimetres at the University Road. Quoting the official forecast for Monday (today), PMD Airport Office Duty Officer Anwar Baig said that there are possibilities of more rain with thunderstorms throughout Sindh.
