04 January 2004	Sunday	11 Ziqa'ad 1424

ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: Islamabad has been transformed into a fortress in preparations for the Saarc summit with 12,000 uniformed sleuths - comprising a dreaded mixture of army commandos, Rangers, Punjab and Islamabad police - manning 150 pickets in and outside the Capital.

The city has been sliced into two from the middle with residents from across the Constitution Avenue, in areas close to Bari Imam, being restricted from visiting the Capital.

This has triggered public frustration, with many people calling newspaper offices to register their protest. "It's a curfew-like situation," said one angry resident.

One has to pass through five pickets while going from one bloc to another. "This is no security," said a resident. "You can't hold the entire city hostage just because a few international guests are coming. Security does not mean that you should stop people from coming out of their homes."

Locals have taken particular exception to the administration's advice that people should limit their mobility during the week. The city administration, it seems, has chosen the easier way out. Instead of providing security without disturbing normal life they are making their job easier by making other people's life difficult, one resident said.

"It just shows an authoritarian mindset," said Raja Kamran Hamid, a resident whose car was searched 12 times in a day. He believed it would give the opposite impression to the guests. "Islamabad looks like a city from the Stalinist era," he said, adding, "this doesn't give the impression of a thriving democracy that we are trying to project".

Life in the Capital has been seriously impaired. Schools are closed. Most government offices will be dysfunctional during the Summit. People are being requested to limit their excursions. The movement between the twin cities has become difficult.