THE frequent blockade of Islamabad’s Red Zone has seriously affected life in the capital. All political parties and pressure groups focus their energies on the area as if that is the only practicle way to register their protest against the government. And whenever that happens — and it happens irritatingly often — the whole area gets barricaded, leaving commuters to put up with the resultant agony.

Unfortunately, the main entrance to the National Library of Pakistan is also located in the area. For students, scholars and learners, the library is an asset where fac-ilities for studying with a quite calm and better milieu have been provided.

However, the entire process gets deva-stated when the main entrance to the library is barricaded by the police, Islam-abad administration and the protestors. Recently, the entrance to a five-star hotel was blocked on account of providing fool-proof security to a visiting cricket team.

To find a way out, the government needs to explore practical alternative arran-gements for the students. Not everyone, but at least the students, staff and workers of the library must be allowed to reach their destination by displaying their relevant identification (ID) cards.

Shoaib Ahmed
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2024