ISLAMABAD: Even though Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leaders and Azadi March participants remained in Gujar Khan for most of Thursday, life in the capital was paralysed by the preparations police have made for the march.

With many of the city’s main arteries and intersections sealed by shipping containers, barricades and barbed wire, many residents were forced to stay at home.

The police have closed off all possible routes leading to the Red Zone, despite the JUI-F’s assurance that the march would not head towards that area.

Many people opted to stay home and markets in the garrison city saw few customers despite reopening after two-day strike

The Red Zone houses various sensitive installations, including Parliament House, Prime Minister House, the Presidency, Supreme Court and the Diplomatic Enclave.

The Azadi March has been given a venue near Peshawar Mor and adjacent to Kashmir Highway but the police and administration were concerned that the Azadi March may turn towards the Red Zone instead.

As a result, residents had difficulty moving around the city. Passenger vehicles such as vans and pick-up trucks appeared to have disappeared from the roads, and many people were seen trying to hitch rides on motorcycles and other vehicles.

Many people simply chose to stay at home instead, giving the city a near deserted look. Few people could be seen shopping in markets.

Because many roads were sealed, there was some traffic congestion on the routes people took on the way home from work. The police have also blocked off the metro bus route by plugging the underpass in the Red Zone with containers. The bus service was suspended and will likely remain so on Friday (today).

Police officials told Dawn that the metro bus route was sealed because the march participants could have used it to access the Red Zone. They said the police were blocking all the possible routes and roads that lead to the Red Zone.

Capital administration officials said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other leaders had expressed reservations that the city would be sealed even though they had reached an agreement with the government regarding the march.

As a result, a delegation from the administration that included the deputy commissioners additional and general as well as police officers met them and led a JUI-F delegation to the capital via the route chosen for them.

According to organisers of the march, JUI-F, Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and PML-N workers and supporters have been arriving at the venue from all over the country all day.

They said the venue consists of two grounds, one that measures around 200 metres and the other 300 metres.

They are establishing some 2,000 toilets in different parts of the venue, and plastic sheets are being used to make cabins and for drainage.

The march consists of more than 30,000 participants, according to police officers watching their movement, travelling in 1,342 vehicles. A container and a crane are also in the march with Mr Rehman and 15 other JUI-F leaders travelling in the container.

Rawalpindi

Although businesses finally reopened on Thursday after a two-day traders’ strike in Rawalpindi, many people chose to stay home because of the presence of the Azadi March some 45 kilometres away in Gujar Khan as well as confusion over the route the procession would take on its way to Islamabad.

It was unclear whether the marchers would pass through downtown Rawalpindi on the way to their public meeting in Islamabad.

The district administration had closed down all educational institutions and suspended the metro bus service between the twin cities as well.

Saddar, Raja Bazaar and other commercial areas were unusually quiet even though traders opened up their stores and vendors were selling fruits, sunglasses, caps, secondhand clothing and other items on carts.

But in other parts of the city, such as the entrance to Raja Bazaar from City Saddar Road, life continued more or less as normal. People could be seen walking through the markets, visiting the District Headquarters Hospital and shopping at the fruit and vegetable market.

Uncertainty was palpable, however, on the 2km patch of Murree Road from Faizabad to Shamsabad and Soan River Bridge to the Fauji Foundation Hospital.

Police and shipping containers could be seen over the bridge on Soan River when moving towards Jhelum Road past the district courts. There were also barriers in place towards Islamabad through Shamsabad in front of the public park, and law enforcement officials and containers could be seen deployed between Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The PML-N and PPP did not establish camps on Murree Road on Thursday morning to welcome JUI-F participants, who spent the night 45km away from Rawalpindi, because of confusion over whether they would pass through the city.

Political workers began hanging banners and set up camps in the afternoon. The PPP camp is at Liaquat Bagh and PML-N’s is at Shamsabad Public Park. Local leaders visited the camps in the evening.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2019