No-go streets: Barriers in Defence and Clifton distress residents
"In other parts of the city, there are no-go areas but here we have no-go streets," said AA Turabi, a resident of DHA Phase IV. "My child studies at Karachi Grammar School, and while the commute to Boat Basin only used to take half an hour, its duration has now tripled during peak traffic hours!"
Seaview Residents Society (SRS) vice-president Dr Mir Paracha pointed out that when Benazir Bhutto resided in the area, her house had covered 500 yards. Now, the plot has encroached upon all the adjacent main roads, with barriers and containers placed throughout the vicinity all in the name of security.
"If I want to get home from Shireen Jinnah Colony, I am forced to travel through a lane so narrow that only one car can pass at a time," said Dr Paracha. "It is ridiculous!"
He lashed out at the government, political and law enforcement officials who barricaded streets to secure their residences, leaving their neighbours distressed.
"The Rangers took over the SRS office on Beach View Road, and later put blockades on the road," he said. "They often close off the road entirely, especially when any senior officer is visiting the building."
In Clifton's Block 4, near the Afridi Inn restaurant, only one lane of Sharae Firdousi is open to vehicular movement. Construction work on a development project has obstructed traffic on DHA's 26th Street, diverting the flow to Zamzama from Do Talwar. There again, security personnel have blocked off the area near General Colony situated behind Zamzama Road. There are similar impediments near a consulate on Khayaban-e-Hafiz, as well as around the residence of the leader of the Awami National Party; the road, a major artery for traffic in DHA's Phase II, poses serious obstructions to cars.
"A large number of the main roads are blocked by powerful residents," said Association of Defence Residents general secretary Aziz Suharwardy. "Not only does this irk other residents, it creates a mess of traffic."
Pointing to General Colony, he said that chaos reigned on Zamzama, DHA's busiest commercial street, in the evening. "They have closed off the street for the security of a former president, without a thought for the trouble this creates for everyone else," Suharwardy complained. "We have the same problem on Badar Commercial Street, where a residence of President Mamnoon Hussain is located, even though he lives in Islamabad."
He also highlighted the security camps established outside the houses of the powerful, where plainclothes security guards take it upon themselves to badger other residents in the name of security threats.
What the administration says
Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui told The Express Tribune that most of these barriers have been put in place by law enforcement officials because of security threats to political actors.
"If there are unnecessary placements, such as at Seaview and Dolmen Mall, they must be removed immediately," he said. "We have already directed the South DIG to remove unnecessary barriers for public convenience, not only from Clifton and DHA, but all around the city."
Meanwhile, an official from the DHA insisted that these blockades were strictly prohibited. "We have only permitted a few dignitaries to erect barricades and establish security camps because they face serious threats," he maintained. "However, they are not allowed to do anything that could be harmful to other residents."
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2014.
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