ISLAMABAD, July 7: Zaman Ahmed had his eyes fixed on the wall clock in his house in G-6/4 on Saturday morning, impatient for it to strike 8 - the time curfew would be lifted in the area for an hour and half.

That would allow him to take his mother to a hospital in Rawalpindi for dialysis. His mother, Zarina Bibi, 55, is a kidney patient and was in immense pain because she had missed her weekly dialysis last Wednesday, the day curfew was imposed.

Many other patients in the curfew zone have been suffering like her because their families would not be able to make the visit to doctor and back home within the short curfew break.

“You need much more time for a visit to doctor and buy medicines than what the curfew relaxation hours allow you,” said Zaman.

He intended to leave his mother at a friend’s house in Rawalpindi “because the Lal Masjid conflict seems to be going from bad to worse”.

There seems no immediate end to the suffering of the people as the curfew entered its fifth day on Saturday.

A special centre has been established at Aabpara police station to issue curfew passes to government employees living in G-6. The pass allows them movement from 7am till 6pm.

Around 500 curfew relaxation permits have been issued to government employees since Wednesday after verifying the personal data of the applicants. They have to go to the centre personally, with their national ID card and departmental service card and a photograph to secure the curfew pass.

An official announcement in this regard said “the holder of the permit will be authorised under section 144 CrPC to commute in a peaceful and visible un-hostile manner into and out of the curfew area except on Masjid Road, Garden Road from the junction on Suharwardy Road till GPO Chowk, Municipal Road from Aabpara Chowk till Melody Chowk on Saddar Road.

“The permit holder will be solely responsible for exercising due caution for his security and law-enforcement agency or the civil administration is not responsible for any untoward incident affecting the holder or any third party”.

Residents of G-6 sector could contact the Deputy Commissioner Office numbers 051-9263504, 9260044, 9260040 for obtaining the permit.

Those government employees who possess cars can also register their car registration numbers along with their curfew passes so that their vehicles could also be allowed to pass the curfew zone.

Employees of the private sector affected by the curfew were not mentioned in the official announcement and have demanded the same treatment.