RPS Director goes to Islamabad and gives her thoughts on the city
15 September 2015 - RPS Partnership
You land in Islamabad and are met by a sea of security followed by immigration chaps, who have their superior sitting on their shoulder monitoring them. You then step 10m and get your passport checked again by a man who has just seen you having it checked. He smiles......thankfully and lets you pass.
Security and bureaucracy seem to be the order of the day. You'll need your luggage labels, as you have to match them up with your bags on exit. Smile sweetly and you'll sail through immigration.
The arrivals area outside is full of calm faces and there is a slight air of boredom, certainly not the usual frenetic activity you come to expect on the public side. That may be in part due to the wall of heat that hits you and makes you want to gasp for air. You can't move quickly in that heat and you may want to arrive in a cotton shirt. Even at 2am it's still hot.
Police checkpoints are everywhere and they stop cars at random; tricky to know who does what, as they all seem to wear different colour uniforms. Blue appears to be “normal police”, olive green is reserved for the “hard looking men” with their machine guns mounted on the back of trucks. They are called the “rangers” and I was told are the best of the best. The men in black T shirts with pictures of guns on the front with the words anti terrorist police underneath; I guess do what it says on the tin!
You can expect your car to be searched for VBIEDs (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices) when you enter any sort of enclave or hotel, official building or the HQ of any commercial organisation. If you go to the bank, expect to be searched and frisked after going through a metal detector. You then have to get past the burly security guard to use the ATM. Guns are everywhere, so you may as well get used to them.
The Marriott hotel has a GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) mounted on the watch tower at the entrance and the place is heavily guarded in the aftermath of a suicide bomb in 2008, which killed at least 54 people and left 266 injured.
The two main hotels, the Marriott and the Serena have tight security and I am reliably informed that foreigners in Islamabad are happy to go there for drinks and dinner. The security for the city ebbs and flows and it really feels like it is living a sham. People go out to restaurants for dinner and everyone goes shopping in the daytime. At present, everyone says that security is good and the threat is low, but checking under vehicles, numerous vehicle checkpoints and using armoured vehicle feels like a different story. Complacency is not easy to get over if you get it wrong and although 2008 was 7 years ago, the threat is still there lurking.
I would keep your wits about you from a security perspective, talk to locals, and also see what the foreigners are saying about how they feel; I mean those who live there. Check your Embassy advice and do what they are advising for the moment.
“Power loading” is common when the electricity goes off. If you are fortunate enough to be on a generator, it will kick in, but make sure your laptop is plugged into a surge protector so you don’t blow the hard drive.
Be prepared to sweat in Islamabad, drinks lots of water to stay hydrated and ensure you take hand sanitiser as it’s easy to get a “dickey tummy”!
Restaurants are fabulous and the food good. You may want to try the Afghan dishes listed in the restaurant as “the never been conquered” Afghan food. We pondered over whether this was more to do with the ferocious men of the Torra Borra or the beautifully cooked food coming off the bar b q. We never did come to a conclusion. You can take your own wine to the restaurants but ensure you take it discreetly in a bag.
Every one in Islamabad was friendly, helpful and warm and despite being aware of the security situation, I am looking forward to going back.
If you need any advice or support for travel to Pakistan, then do contact us at [email protected]
Photos: RPS Partnership