ISLAMABAD:
As clashes between police and protesters continue at the Red Zone, close to fifty members of the civil society gathered at the Sector F-6 intersection and protested against the government on Sunday morning.
It was not the usual gathering of civil society members. Most faces were new and not from the capital. Those that regularly turn up at protests were nowhere to be seen. Gathering under a tree, protesters were mostly a mix of supporters of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. They had left the Red Zone when the situation intensified and were seeking a platform to keep staging their protest.
Taimur Adil, a PTI supporter, was handing out placards to supporters. Adil, a resident of the capital, was encouraging people to remain peaceful and chant slogans against the on going crisis. As police vehicles swooshed through the main road, the crowd chanted louder slogans against the government. They marched through the Super Market, turning heads of people crossing by and ended their walk outside Polyclinic hospital.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Adil said the message to gather at the spot to protest was spread through social media. While those debating about the situation from their homes were just vocal on the internet, those who joined the bandwagon were either bystanders or supporters of either PAT or PTI.
“We started with just five people and within a few hours of us standing here close to 60 people have decided to join the protest” said Adil. He said the crowd included people who have travelled long distances to support PAT and PTI.
Adil, who was present at the sit-in on Saturday night, said he barely escaped the baton-charging police. “It is a clear act of aggression,” he said. This is not a party or a political issue. What we saw last night is a humanitarian crisis, he added.
Adil said people discussing the issue in their drawing rooms must step out and join those on the roads.
“Those not on the roads are part of the crime,” he said. Adil said that as opposed to any other day where we actively see civil society members stepping out, the protest today consisted of a majority belonging to different cities. “When things have gotten crucial, no one has come out from Islamabad, he lamented.
Holding a placard chanting slogans against the government, Mubashir Iqbal from Sialkot joined the sit-in on August 14.
“I have been sleeping in the camps established for protesters,” he said. Iqbal had left the Red Zone on Saturday night when things got bad and has not been able to return. “Since I cannot go back there, I heard about the protest here so I came,” he said. “We are now operating in an isolated manner,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2014.
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