ISLAMABAD, July 20: Islamabad, once famous for its peaceful environment and beautiful landscape, is no more a desired destination for tourists and job-seekers in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid carnage and the bomb blast at the lawyers’ convention, as now they see no charm in this once-cherished city.

The federal capital is quickly loosing its attraction for job- seekers, visitors and students, as their parents do not consider it a safe place anymore.

Imran Khattak, 24, who hails from Karak, was not allowed by his parents to appear in a test in Islamabad for a post advertised by the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) because his parents feared he might become a victim of the Lal Masjid saga.

“I was determined to leave for Islamabad on July 13 but my parents did not allow me, as there was a fierce battle between the security forces and the Lal Majid ‘brigade’ in those days. Ultimately, I had to cancel my visit,” Khattak told this reporter on Thursday.

Parents, whose children are employed in the capital, are worried about them and keep making calls to them on a daily basis to inquire about their wellbeing since the law and order condition in Islamabad began to deteriorate.

A lawyer, who is a staunch supporter of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry’s cause, told this scribe that his wife and mother were trying to persuade him not to participate in the CJ’s rallies after the blast at the lawyers’ convention in F-8.

Mujahid Ali, who has a rent-a-car business, told Dawn that his major clients were foreign tourists, who often rented vehicles for touring the capital and adjoining resorts, adding that after the gory events of Lal Masjid and the bomb blast, there was no sign of the tourists.

He said his business had been severely affected after the two tragic events and added that he himself was planning to leave for his native town, Parachinar, and close down his business for a some time.

Mr Ali said he himself was so terrified that he had changed his decision of getting his son admitted to a private school in the capital. “I would lament my decision later in case I enrol my son in a school here and then some tragedy happens to my child,” he added. The journalists’ community in the twin cities of Rawalpindi- Islamabad, who are exposed to great risks these days, receive calls from their parents and relatives on a daily basis, expressing concern for their safety.

The federal capital, which once made its residents proud to be living in it, no more consider it a safe place and there is a need to urgently restore its law and order to attract visitors.