LAHORE: “We have had to arrive at least three hours before our flight, and even then we could barely make it as routes were confusing,” says Shumaila Jawed, who was to travel on the same fateful Friday as when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was returning home.

“We had to end up waiting inside the airport for hours.”

Interviews with the public revealed that the stringent security measures on Friday left them hassled and limited from completing their daily routine, especially since businesses were not off.

Only those with tickets were allowed in the airport area. Some of the people, therefore, had trouble picking up their relatives who had scheduled arrivals during the day. Others who had reached earlier were better off since before 10 there was no blockage of airport traffic.

“I had a 10 o clock flight and reached easily at eight,” says Sarwat, a resident of Faisal Town. “Precautions had begun to take place but had not yet kicked in fully.”

Besides airport, traffic remained thin though offices were open.

“Today our work has suffered terribly,” says Amjad Hussain, who works in a bank at Davis Road. “Many of us could not reach on time, some others in the other branches did not come.”

Many Uber and Careem users were affected as in some areas cars were not available at all for both companies. Others complained that it took up to 30 minutes for a cab to reach their house even though they were not that far off.

Writer Zeeba said that she was stuck at home and unable to leave because of this. “In the middle of the ride, the taxi network was lost, and I got home later than usual.”

She said she could see heavy contingents of armed paramilitary near her house which was behind the airport and this itself was creating an atmosphere of fear and claustrophobia.

“It reminds me of the time when Benazir Bhutto had arrived here after many years,” she says.

However, shops were open and nothing was officially shut. Despite that many people could not travel to markets and waited for the day to end and containers to be removed before they could go shopping for groceries or other mundane chores.

Users of public transport were more disturbed than those with their own vehicles.

Shagufta who is a domestic worker said she was unable to go to work in a bus because buses were not coming and that the only rickshaws available in her area of Nishtar Colony were charging an arm and a leg for travelling anywhere.

“Eventually my brother had to go late for work so he could drop me on his motorbike,” she said.

However, there were no problems regarding blockages in other parts of the city.

In the northern half of the city, roads were confined with containers, but the overall atmosphere was passive.

However much of the public aired their worry about the overall ongoing political situation and the expected return of the Maryam and Nawaz.

Some thought that such stringent measures were not needed.

“The issue is being blown out of proportion by the State and its institutions,” said Mohammad who was unable to see why so much security was needed only for the two to be carried off to jail, as it had been stated. “They already said we are here to give arrest, then why so much precaution?”

Others thought that the need was integral given the three blasts that had already occurred – two on Friday only, and that the more security the better.

“This is the epitome of crushing civil rights, by blocking off roads, by killing phone and internet signals, by pushing people inside their homes in case they do not come out in support of the former prime minister,” said a professor who chooses to remain anonymous.

“They have turned the city into a security cell and expect elections to be a symbol of democracy.”

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2018