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| April 17, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1427 |
Sealing of Blue Area irks citizens: Crown prince’s visit
ISLAMABAD, April 16: Major business activities in the capital remained paralysed for two days (Saturday and Sunday) due to the sealing of Blue Area during the visit of Saudi crown prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the affected people told Dawn on Sunday.
Not only the public and traders but also local and international business concerns including banks, multinational firms, mobile phone companies, hotels, hospitals, restaurants, educational institutions, the stock exchange and money chang centres in the area remained sealed from 9am to 5pm on both the days.
The people said law-enforcement agencies had erected barricades on all the routes that lead to Blue Area and nobody was allowed to park even a single vehicle on a three kilometre strip from Razia Sharif Plaza to Islamabad Hospital.
“Law-enforcement agencies cannot imagine the sufferings of people who become the victims of security arrangements during the visits of foreign delegates,” the affected people lamented.
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) senior Vice- President Malik Sohail condemned the sealing of Blue Area for two days due to security reasons.
“What massage we are giving to the foreign investors that our law-enforcement agencies are so inefficient that there is no other option except sealing of the capital city to provide security to the foreign guests,” he said.
He said international firms who had been executing millions of dollars projects in Islamabad were upset due to lack of access to banks and offices of multinational companies during foreign delegates visits.
“People were confined in their offices, shops and business centres as they were not even allowed to walk on verandas,” he said.
He said people of the country should not be held responsible for law and order situation and inefficient law-enforcement agencies.
He said it was a gross violation of human rights that the main commercial centre in Islamabad was sealed for two days and people were not allowed to enter into it.
He said the residents and traders’ community faced similar situation almost every month when some foreign dignitary visited the capital.
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