Weary capital residents endure another protest

Protesters occupy large open areas alongside a key thoroughfare

ISLAMABAD: Patience is wearing thin amongst some residents of the federal capital after having to endure another round of anti-government protests, with thousands of opposition supporters showing no sign of giving up despite the onset of winter rains.

Supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had descended on Islamabad from various parts of the country a week ago, denouncing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government as illegitimate and calling for Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down.

It is the first concerted challenge that Imran has faced since he won a general election last year promising to end corruption and create jobs for the poor. Imran, though, has dismissed the calls for him and his government to resign and denounced the protests as a threat to democracy.

The protesters are occupying a large open area alongside one of the federal capital’s main roads, the latest in a succession of drawn-out sit-ins over recent years, including one which Imran himself led against the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

"This is the third sit-in since 2014 in Islamabad — it has to stop if this country wants to progress," said 47-year-old office worker Ghazanfar Ali.

The capital’s sole public transport system, which runs by the protest site, has been suspended and Ali said he had to spend twice as much in getting to work.

For 17-year-old student Zeeshan Azeem, the protest has seen the internet being shut down at his home the entire week the protesters have camped in the federal capital. He blamed the outage on the government’s vain attempts to disrupt the protesters' communications.

"We are forced to travel a considerable distance from the protest site to use the internet," said Azeem, clutching his books as he headed home from school.

"When we complain to the service provider, they say they have down-graded the service on the government's instructions."

The government has not confirmed any such order but it is a regular tactic in the country, and staff at internet service providers (ISPs) say they had been told to suspend services in some areas.

The protesters have resorted to setting up a tent city with plastic sheets. They have brought with them stoves and utensils to cook. During the day, when their leaders are not giving speeches, they opt to rest.

The mood has been cheerful and there has been no significant trouble.

The biggest problem, though, has been the onset of cold rain.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2019.