Life in Hassle

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: Yes, that’s the Blue Area, the heart of Islamabad where it ends; it is the Red Zone which is practically inaccessible to the commoner in Pakistan.

This picture tells many things, such as how serious the government is about mitigating the sufferings of the public.

It is haphazard as traffic inches its way owing to the wrong parking of the individuals who have blocked the road. It raises questions for the nation as a whole as to how much disharmony exists when simple traffic is not smooth. The rest of the state affairs come later.

To start with, where is the Capital Territory Police or the traffic police, for that matter, to organize the smooth flow? The buildings, mostly plazas, owned by the ruling elite are on Blue Area and how many laws have been trampled in erecting these structures comes next.

The jam is caused by the wrong parking in these plazas, where many guards and support staff fail to make correct parking bays for their clients so that they should park properly and don’t let ‘the car use the mind of its own’ to halt sideways.

The licensing authority, its testing standards and its authenticity all are depicted in this picture by Sultan Bashir, who, while capturing the image, displayed the national state of affairs.

Read More:https://thepenpk.com/a-portrait-of-neglect-in-pakistan/

This is not an uncommon site; it can happen anytime and anywhere during the day, and yes, this jam will have ambulances, and yes, patients have died while on their way to the hospital because there was no space given to the vehicle.

Only a couple of days ago, a woman gave birth to twins in Rescue 1122 ambulance because, due to a traffic jam, she was left with no choice. This is not all; many women have given birth in these ambulances which were a blessing as hospital was not in sight.

It is not uncommon in Pakistan; time and again, news has appeared of women on their way to the hospital delivering babies in the vehicle.

This picture tells it all in a nutshell, as commoners in the ‘land of the pure’ are light years away from hassle-free Pakistan, as elite capture is way too strong that it strangles progress and prosperity from the very jugular.

The ruling elite in their protocol can always be seen waving at the commoners who are blocked by the authorities and sometimes the commoner doesn’t get a glimpse of these high and mighty leaders whose motorcade, owing to security protocol, is responsible for the deaths of many.

People have been cursed and crushed under the wheels of this ruling elite because they were there where they shouldn’t be. However, statistics are not available as to how many human lives are claimed by these motorcades, but yes, death trails and dead bodies exist.

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad and writes on a wide range of issues.

Photo Credit: Sultan Bashir