Reflections on violence: In lockdown, capital’s twin wears deserted look

Pindi residents hope curfew will relax soon, mobile services expected to be restored today.

ISLAMABAD:

The Rawalpindi city bosses claimed that after almost a month of planning, they had come up with a foolproof security plan. “Well,” said Ghazi Asghar, a former resident of Rawalpindi who now lives in Islamabad. “Look at Pindi. Nothing is foolproof. You only need a sufficiently talented fool.”

Citizens of the capital sympathised with the pain being felt by residents of its twin city as they tried to make sense of the violence on Friday. Meanwhile, the imposition of a curfew in Rawalpindi following violence brought life to a standstill. With movement restricted, some locals faced great difficulty in commuting to hospitals in emergency situations and those coming to and from the airport.

In Westridge, a man called out for public support against security officials as they had blocked a road leading to a hospital and refused to let him pass. Most residents had to commute through back alleys to reach their desired destinations. Although the Islamabad Expressway remained open, entrances to Rawalpindi from Faizabad and Koral Chowk were blocked off. All links to IJ Principal Road from Rawalpindi were also blocked, but there were still some alternate routes to enter Islamabad. Inside Rawalpindi, the smaller roads turned into cricket pitches as kids came out to make use of the empty streets.



Muzammil Saqlain, a project manager in Islamabad for a multinational telecommunications firm, who was returning to his house in Rawalpindi after a trip to the northern areas, said, “The right turn towards the airport from Islamabad Highway was closed and many cars were parked there as some people were walking to the airport with bags in hand from Koral Chowk.”

He added that he and his friends were stopped at a checkpoint on Grand Trunk Road near Attock Petroleum where many people were manning the check point, but guards were only letting cars through one-at-a-time. They were also checking National Identity Cards, which created a traffic jam.

“We also saw two ambulances get delayed at this checkpoint. One was already there when we got in queue and one arrived shortly after. One can only hope that it was nothing too serious,” he further said.



“The state is in denial and treating its religious problem as one treats a symptom, not a cause. It’s time to admit that religion is no longer the glue that holds the country together as is the official refrain. It is, on the contrary, bringing the country apart at the seams,” said Media Development at Civic Action Resources Director Adnan Rehmat.

Amber Saeed, a homemaker, said, “I don’t understand. Will this curfew make a difference to anyone? Everyone was expecting this, no? Why punish the rest? It’s business as usual in Pakistan. This isn’t going to make any difference. Maybe give the government time to think and then react.”

Residents of Rawalpindi hoped that cell phone services would open up on Sunday as well as the curfew relaxation so they could return to their normal routines as schools and offices open up on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2013.