The highly-publicised opening of Dream Bazaar Pakistan devolved into chaos when hordes of people stormed the shopping mall and cleaned it out within 30 minutes, destroying large parts of the property in the process. Visuals shared online show members of the unruly mob pushing and shoving each other to grab the best deals, clothes strewn on the floor and employees standing helpless.
Dream Bazaar in Karachi was aggressively advertised as Pakistan’s biggest thrift store, promising unbelievable discounts on designer clothing, homeware and accessories. Perhaps keen to grab a good bargain, thousands of Karachi residents flocked to the shopping mall on the day of its inauguration.
However, lack of crowd control and police action led to the mall being ransacked by unruly shoppers. Local reports suggest that clothes were stolen, people were pushed and shoved around and parts of the property damaged by the mob. Dream Bazaar management struggled to control the swelling crowd. When some employees closed the front door to more shoppers, baton-wielding individuals broke the glass and rushed inside.
According to ARY News, police did not intervene to control the crowd, but some eyewitnesses said that cops were seen hitting innocent bystanders at the scene.
Take a look at the videos below:
{{/usCountry}}According to ARY News, police did not intervene to control the crowd, but some eyewitnesses said that cops were seen hitting innocent bystanders at the scene.
Take a look at the videos below:
{{/usCountry}}In one video shared online, an eyewitness to the chaos was heard criticising the unruly mob. “Ye kaun log hain. Ye kahan se aate hain… barbaad kar diya (Who are these people? Where have they come from? They have destroyed the store),” the person filming the video was heard saying.
The shopping mall has been forced to shut down indefinitely after the weekend fiasco.
In a message shared on Instagram two days ago, Dream Bazaar thanked Karachi residents for making its opening day a success, and announced its temporary closure alongside.
“Dream Bazaar is set out to provide a premium customer experience that is affordable for everyone. For this, Dream Bazaar requires few days to re-set our premium shopping experience. Stay tuned for updates, we will be back soon!” the Dream Bazaar team posted.
The mall was reportedly built by a Pakistani businessman who is based abroad.