Islamabad - With the arrival of spring, the season of peace and colours, Faqir Zada sets up a stall along roadside near Fatima Jinnah Park and starts selling sunglasses. Sunglasses of different styles and shapes are available at his stall.
“I have been selling sunglasses since 2005,” said Faqir Zada and added, “I come to this place with the arrival of spring and remain here until August.” According to him, his business activity increases rapidly in March and April.  “As peak season ends and a stretch of slow business starts, I switch to some other business,” he said.
Faqir Zada belongs to Bajaur Agency. After completion of his matriculation, he opted for the business instead of getting further education. His inclination towards own business led him to Karachi. He tried different ventures in Karachi but could not succeed. “Over the advice of a relative I started selling sunglasses; the business was productive so I continued it,” he said. According to him, selling sunglasses is not a bad job. “This business does not need a lot of money to start with; at initial stage even you can start it from Rs 15,000,” he added.
The customers can find all kinds of glasses in Faqir Zada’s stall available at affordable prices. Such glasses that he brings from wholesale market in Rawalpindi are rip-offs of famous branded items like Ray Ban, Gucci, Boss, Dior, Chanel and many more. “I have Chinese, Italian, Swiss and Japanese brands,” he said and added, “From Rs 300 to Rs 700, one can get one’s desired brands from my stall.” According to the vendor, young people are interested in buying copies of international brands. “Girls these days demand for overweight glasses,” he said. Such glasses are with very large frames and styles. He said that a round style is becoming fast popular amongst the college boys. Such glasses are round both in small and large frames. “In metal frames round and colourful glasses are available at Rs 350 while in plastic we have items with prices from Rs 200 to Rs 300.”  Sardar, another stall owner, also sells sunglasses in the same area. He does not believe that any of the shops even in posh sectors could sell original imported sunglasses. “All the sunglasses are the same; our products are cheap as we sell them along roadside while same stuffs are being sold in markets at high prices.”
“No one can differentiate between original and copies,” claimed Muhammad Rahim, a student who was buying glasses at the stall.
Abdullah, another customer, said, “Due to such stalls, we can buy variety of glasses at affordable prices.”