For anyone who doesn’t know what Karachi Eat is and why it is trending as Karachi Beats, here is the answer.
Karachi Eat is the city’s biggest food festival, which has been going strong for the past five years. The tenth edition of the festival had a quiet two days, but the final day shocked the nation after Twitterati posted horrifying details of a massive riot, sexual harassment, public brawls and an unruly crowd that went into a frenzy and groped.
From singer Kaifi Khalil walking off stage in chaos, Young Stunners refusing to play and people climbing walls to get in without tickets, this food festival was anything but peaceful.
Criticizing the administration’s incompetence, Twitter users shared videos of the entrance gates being smashed by a frenzied crowd that tried to sneak in without paying.
Stags broke the gates and forcefully entered #KarachiEat today. People are saying that they literally had to leave through spaces between walls and jump off them to get out of the chaos. Please ban such events in the city if security can’t be managed.
— Armash (@armashshahab) January 8, 2023
Eyewitnesses of the horrific incident shared details on their tweets. Women attending the event have shown their anger and disgust at the perpetrators.
Made it out thank god. There were men outside the venue trying to get in to harass women. The police were trying to control them, and suddenly the lights went out and they were all hooting like crazy. Had to climb out of a broken wall to get safely to my car.
— ⛈ 𝒜𝓇𝑒𝒾 ʕु•̫͡•ʔु☂ (@Arei_ed) January 8, 2023
It was also reported that singer Kaifi Khalil was injured during his show at the festival, but he clarified that he is safe and the news of his injury contains zero truth.
There was almost a major stampede yesterday night at #KarachiEat. Barricades were broken. Women were harassed. Stuff was thrown at the performing artists. A ‘family only’ event turned into an ‘All Men’ event.
— l (@laylaaff) January 9, 2023
Women were told to leave using the emergency exits for their safety. pic.twitter.com/Rc4uFQyMB2
Kahani singer Suno issued a statement saying, “I would just like to clarify the fake news that is being circulated about my injury during my performance at the Karachi Eat event yesterday, which is not true.”
Stags broke the gates and forcefully entered #KarachiEat today. People are saying that they literally had to leave through spaces between walls and jump off them to get out of the chaos. Please ban such events in the city if security can’t be managed.
— Armash (@armashshahab) January 8, 2023
Singer Kana Yaari added: “I will say that I am a bit disappointed and upset about what happened yesterday. Ladies who came to enjoy the evening with their family and friends were harassed and treated inappropriately by a group of people who lacked decency and COMMON SENSE. .”
Khalil claimed, “The event was canceled in the middle of the show because I couldn’t continue with what was happening and it became a concern for the people in the audience as well. I request the organizers to consider the safety of everyone present.”
After Khalil, other artistes refused to perform, including Dil Ke Ishaaray fame Taha G, who said in an Instagram story, “Sorry to everyone who came today, things got out of hand due to trespassing and overcrowding, so the shows they had to be cancelled. I was extremely excited, the best I’ve ever heard. I’m so sorry once again. Stay safe.”
Hello everyone thank you for your pure love and support. kindly Read this and share. pic.twitter.com/QWLseK2EbN
— Kaifi Khalil (@kaifi_khalil) January 9, 2023
In response to the unfortunate incident at the event, one of the organizers said: “A large crowd knocked down the walls, fought with the security present, climbed the barricades to enter the premises and spread fear among the event attendees.”
The statement further read: “Despite security measures, the crowd was extremely unruly and invaded the event causing harm to our security as well.”
The organizer added: “We are keeping ticket prices as low as possible to make the event affordable for everyone. Hiking the price will only allow the elite to attend which defeats the purpose of the Eat festival. It will not remain inclusive The first day saw even more crowds than the third and yet the first day went smoothly as did the second but the crowd on the third day breaching security measures ruined the festival for the attendees.”
The statement further read: “We encouraged carpooling and even partnered with Careem to help reduce traffic and even posted on our social media to carpool to avoid traffic, but still, every attendee brought a car to the event that created a traffic jam on the roads.”
“This event is for the people. We started this event to give public spaces back to the people so they can own their city. What happened makes us question whether we should be holding these events with extreme security protocols and limit our audience if our mob What’s the point of creating a platform for our city if the mob can’t contain itself?’
The statement concluded: “The idea of reclaiming our public spaces is this event. That’s why we started it. If we’re now forced to hold events in barren areas because we don’t have the self-discipline or responsibility to behave in a way that allows everyone to enjoy without feeling harassed, then that’s a sad statement about what we are as a society.”