ISLAMABAD: It looked as Nadeem Akhter was visiting a fair in a faraway village of the interior Punjab.

Children were buying potato chips, fruits, ice cream and juices while their parents and other people were busy in shopping of T-shirts, dresses, umbrellas and shoes at low prices.

Some women were enjoying sunshine while the elderly people were taking tea at a tea stall.

But Akhter realised that he was not visiting a fair in a village but was in the high security zone of the federal capital which in routine days was not open to the common citizens of Pakistan.

“I came to the Red Zone for the first time after its closure to the common people about six years ago when there was a suicide attack on Marriott Hotel on September 21, 2008,” Mr Akhter said.

Citizens living in Bhara Kahu and adjoining areas have started using the road to reach their destinations

The 40-year-old from Satellite Town has been a lawyer in the district courts of Rawalpindi for over 10 years.

“Before the attack on the Marriott Hotel, I used to visit the Supreme Court along with senior lawyers.” Mr Akhtar said he was happy to see common people thronging D-Chowk, which was declared a Red Zone by the previous PPP government.

According to the local residents of Islamabad, public transport was now allowed on the Constitution Avenue while government employees and the residents of the nearby towns such as Bhara Kahu and Bari Imam were also using the road to reach their destinations.

They said the administration had closed the Red Zone for public transport, increasing the hardship of the government employees and the local residents.

Thousands of PAT and the PTI supporters have been camping on the Constitution Avenue for around 21 days.

Sofia Ijaz, 22, a resident of Sialkot and a supporter of PAT, told Dawn that the protesters were compelled to stay on the road on the directions of their leader. She said it was not easy to survive without proper food, clothing and taking rest. The protesters were also contracting different diseases, she added.

“Hundreds of families have returned to their hometowns after their children fell sick due to the lack of facilities here. It was also difficult for government employees and students to remain absent from their offices and schools for so long,” she added.

Sofia said it was unfortunate that the leadership of PAT and the PTI were trying to stop their supporters from returning to their areas. She believed that the demands of the protesters would not be fulfilled due to the stance taken by different political parties in the parliament.

Pressure on PTI workers

According to PTI leaders from different districts, it is difficult for them to bring supporters to D-Chowk as people were busy in their routine works.

They said they had succeeded in convincing their voters and supporters to stay in Islamabad for the first three or four days but most of the people were not ready to stay in Islamabad for an indefinite period.

Saifur Rehman, senior vice-president of the PTI from Karachi, who also contested elections against MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari from PS-126, told Dawn that they had brought around 5,000 people from Karachi to the sit-in but they returned after three days due to the lack of facilities at the sit-in site.

Mr Rehman said around 250 more people had come from Karachi to participate in the sit-in at D-Chowk.

“It is true that the strength of the PTI supporters is decreasing due to the prolonged sit-in. The low level leaders of the PTI are also facing a lot of pressure from Imran Khan,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2014