Sitara Market: losing its ‘spark’

Comprising of 200 shops, this market offered its many customers smuggled, stolen goods

Sitara Market in Peshawar is known for its war paraphernalia. The market is comprised of 200 shops, this market had a booming business when the American troops were placed in Afghanistan.

The Sitara Market had offered its many customers, smuggled, and stolen goods of Americans and NATO forces from Afghanistan.

In Peshawar, the Sitara Market dominated the scene with American goods. Nowadays, it is flooded with locally made and Chinese made goods, the American goods seem to disappear.

Saqib Ahmad, 39 is a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal town, in Lahore. He is here on a visit to his relatives. He can be seen arguing the shoe shop keeper, over the quality, and price.

The salt and pepper haired man shared with Bol News that he had travelled from another province to Peshawar. His reason was clear, when he declared that he wanted to buy American products in Peshawar. The entrepreneur seems disappointed and shared his frustration exclaiming, “We purchased so many high-quality goods in the past; but now, there are no foreign goods as before in Sitara market”, Ahmad added.

Ahmad, travelled for six hours by road, to come to Peshawar, had another complaint. He was of the view that the products being sold in the market, nowadays, are low in quality, because the products are either made locally or imported from China. Adding to that, he expressed his frustration that despite that fact, the price has exponentially increased.

The supply of contraband to the market has dwindled, which is has resulted in the number of customers, declining over the years.

Daulat Shinwari, owns a shop which sells war paraphernalia at the Sitara Maret. He shared his views and said that the business has dropped because, several shopkeepers are selling commercial goods. The locally made and Chinese imported goods are plenty in the market. The US goods are very few and far in between, lack of US goods is because of US troops leaving Afghanistan.

He reminisced about the ‘glory days’ of the market; adding that after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan, and toppled the Taliban, this market was used to be crowded. Now it is empty.

He further shed light over the business, elaborating that the business has lost its grip. In the past, people were able to find high quality goods but now, shopkeepers are selling local and Chinese products, which are not good quality.

When questioned about the recent Taliban government takeover in Afghanistan, he said that the Taliban’s sweeping offensives not helped the business at all. Rather, due to frequent border closures; it has managed to ‘choke off’ the supply.

The shopkeeper opined, that wars in Afghanistan have been good for business, be it the Soviet war or the US war. Business boomed during war time as the products could easily be smuggled into Pakistan, those products were of good quality.

Pakistan served one of the logistical nerve centers for countless containers filled with supplies, which was delivered via trucks to Afghanistan.

After Pakistan fencing and sealing of hundreds of kilometers of the border, the abrupt departure of foreign troops has led to dwindling supplies.

Ali Afridi, is the president of the Sitar Market in Karkhano Bazar, Peshawar. The head of the market union was of the view that it has been a long history of smuggling and foreign invasions in the area.

He elaborates to Bol News that after 2001, the long Afghan border, smugglers’ markets mushroomed in Pakistan, offering military gadgets, clothing and luxury goods, meant for American bases and compounds.

The young president of the market shared that for many years the mountain passes between Pakistan and Afghanistan were a lifeline for armies, traders and smugglers moving between central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

He responded to the question regarding Sitar market said that this market sells US goods. These goods have either been stolen and transported from Afghanistan, or from trucks captured from NATO, transporting goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan

He further elaborates that even though being nicknamed the ‘American Market’, this market sells arms from the US, China, Russia, Iran and just about every other country one can think of. Afridi said that since Pakistan closed the border, smuggled goods cannot reach the market. This was a freeway which was closed off. It damaged the business.

He considering that the smugglers’ markets in Pakistan are being forced to rethink their business model because, instead of night-vision goggles and high-quality ammo vests, the markets are now stuffed with cheap goods, Afridi concluded

Earlier, the border officials have taken strict measures to stop smuggling and other illegal practices. Smuggling on the country borders with Iran and Afghanistan plague the country’s economy.

However, the efforts of the present government have prompted a slight decline in illegal trade across Pakistan

The writer is a freelance multimedia journalist based in Peshawar. He tweets @JawadYousufxai