ISLAMABAD: Following the interior minister’s announcement that any action against the protesters at D-Chowk would be taken in broad daylight, the entire capital waited on Wednesday for a clean-up operation that never happened.

But everyone in Islamabad, from law enforcement personnel and protesters inside the Red Zone, to the traders of Blue Area, as well as ordinary citizens, remained glued to TV screens and phones as they waited for word on the fate of the D-Chowk demonstration.

Hectic negotiations between interlocutors – who had specially flown in from Karachi to intercede on the protesters’ behalf – punctuated the tense standoff between security personnel and demonstrators on Constitution Avenue.

Wary of promised police action, Blue Area remains shut; police, demonstrators try to their keep morale high

The waiting took its toll on both sides; the fading morale of police, FC and other security personnel guarding the pickets keeping protesters from the high-security zone would often have to be encouraged by their superiors. They were reminded of their superior numbers and told that retaking D-Chowk wouldn’t be a big deal.

Most spent the sunny day idling in search of shade. The monotony would be broken when protesters and security officials – no doubt in an attempt to keep from dozing off – would face off, one side beating their shields and the other side raising religious slogans.

Even afternoon prayers were a delicate affair and senior police officers warned their men not to go for prayer all at once. But the day was rife with symbolic gestures as both sides offered prayers on either side of the same divider in the middle of Constitution Avenue.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, it seemed to everyone – even the press corps – that there would be no law enforcement action. This impression was cemented when Awais Noorani and Haji Rafiq Pardesi, arrived in their SUV to hold talks with Sarwat Qadri, Pri Afzal Qadri, Dr Ashraf Jalali and Hamid Raza Sialkoti. The discussions lasted around an hour, after which the two negotiators left.

They only returned to D-Chowk after 6pm, when mobile phone signals were restored in the area. This gave most people hope that an agreement had been reached and the intermediaries were welcomed back as heroes.

Then came the announcement from the stage, acknowledging the role played by Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ishaq Dar in hammering out a settlement.

Jinnah Avenue was shut from D-Chowk to China Chowk and Blue Area remained closed for business in anticipation of an operation against the demonstrators. But many traders hung around their shops in case things went sour and they had to protect them.

Yousaf Rajput, who owns a garment shop told Dawn traders were afraid that protesters would come and burn down their shops.

“On March 27, protesters forced us to close our shops. They broke signboards, ransacked the metro bus station and damaged a lot more, and they can do the same again,” he said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Sattar Isani told Dawn that it was the government’s strategy to maintain pressure on the participants of the sit-in in an effort to exhaust them.

“We achieved our target successfully and that is why the protesters returned peacefully,” he said.

Later, as protesters began to disperse, a large welcome camp was set up in Faizabad to receive those returning from Islamabad. They were showered with rose petals and those coming on foot from D-Chowk were provided transport to the Pir Wadai bus stand.

But there was still confusion about the fate of those languishing in lock-up. Ishaq Dar and Saad Rafique had reportedly committed that those who were picked up for peacefully protesting would be set free, while Chaudhry Nisar announced that anyone who committed a criminal act would not be spared.

This posed a unique problem for the police department, which was flooded with phone calls as soon as signals returned. The interior minister had promised that out of the 1,078 people arrested, those who were innocent would be freed after verification.

A senior police officer told Dawn that 750 protestors were arrested from Islamabad and of those, 116 were sent to prison on judicial remand. The remaining 634 were detained at different police stations around the capital.

“As soon as mobile service was restored, those arrested began calling up their relatives and supporters to inform them about their arrest and their locations,” he said, adding that soon afterwards, police were inundated with people petitioning for the release of their comrades.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2016