In brief
The fire that burned into the underground Bakhtar Market in Mazar‑i‑Sharif destroyed 135 shops, causing heavy economic losses with no casualties, according to Xinhua and local outlet TOLOnews. Investigation teams have been dispatched to determine the cause, while traders of clothes, footwear and tourist offices cope with the aftermath. Authorities are probing the incident.
On Friday, a fire broke out in the underground Bakhtar Market in Mazar‑i‑Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, reducing at least 135 individual shops to ashes, no human casualties were reported, and both Xinhua and local outlet TOLOnews said the blaze caused extensive economic damage.
Xinhua reported that the blaze started late Friday and burned through the market’s corridor, describing the fire as having "slashed through the centre of the market, leaving temporary voids in the trade infrastructure," and emphasised that initial estimates showed 135 shop units were destroyed, with investigators still trying to establish the spark’s source.
Local broadcaster TOLOnews elaborated on the products lost, saying the fire gutted thousands of clothing items, many pairs of footwear and several tourist office stalls that serve visitors to the historic city, thereby magnifying the trade impact for merchants who rely on daily shop revenue.
The Bakhtar Market, an underground commercial complex that regularly hosts hundreds of traders, functions as a financial hub for residents in Mazar‑i‑Sharif. The loss of 135 shop units, many of which held inventory worth at least 50,000 Afghanis each, was described by Xinhua as “heavy economic losses for the community.”
In response, provincial authorities dispatched investigation teams to the scene, and an inquiry is said to be underway to uncover the cause. Xinhua added that the investigation centre will check for electrical faults and possible arson, while TOLOnews noted that police investigators are interviewing stallholders for more detail on the fire’s onset.
While Xinhua and TOLOnews present largely overlapping facts, their emphasis differs: Xinhua’s account stresses the sheer scale of the destruction at the national level, using a precise number of 135 shops, whereas TOLOnews focuses on the kinds of goods lost and the downstream effect on traders. The two sources do not present contradictory details, but they offer complementary frames—statistical focus versus local impact.
In a broader view, marketplaces in Afghanistan have repeatedly faced infrastructure vulnerabilities. The long‑standing issue of inadequate electrical maintenance has historically contributed to short‑term fire hazards in underground markets across the country, a point that offsets the lack of a defined cause in the current incident.
The authorities have indicated that the investigation’s findings will be released when the inquiry concludes, and they are urging the trading community to prepare for a potential replacement and to review safety protocols, signalling a cautious approach to restoring the market’s operations.