‘Like living in a cage’: Islamabad stuck in lockdown as city waits on US-Iran talks

Pakistani capital in pandemic-style limbo as people work from home, public transport is closed and businesses shut Across Islamabad, there is lockdown. The streets of the Pakistani capital have been empty for days, shops have been shuttered and public transport closed down. Officials and office workers have been told to work from home, while labourers have found themselves deprived of work. The only visible figures are those in army and police uniforms lining the roads. For many, it feels like a return to the pandemic. Yet the cause is not a virus but Islamabad’s status as the venue for US-Iran talks that hold the promise of an end to war in the Middle East, with stringent security measures imposed on the city as it awaits the two delegations. Yet as uncertainty reigns over whether the negotiations will even take place, anger has been rising. For people, the draconian and seemingly indefinite restrictions have become a source of frustration and economic strife. Many workers in Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi unable to afford to rent a flat were unceremoniously kicked out of their hostel accommodation on Saturday, after a government order, and tens of thousands had to hurrie