ISLAMABAD // If Islamabad is not yet Baghdad or Kabul, orders by the United Nations and Britain to evacuate the children of international staff from the Pakistani capital have brought the transformation a step closer.
Concrete barriers and roadblocks manned by armed police and paramilitary soldiers have sprung up across the previously sedate city since the bombing of the Marriott Hotel last month.
The government has declared that a huge area housing the presidency, parliament and most foreign embassies is now a high security "Red Zone" reminiscent of Baghdad's famed "Green Zone".
Anyone entering is subjected to repeated checks on their car, questioning by police and endless requests to show official cards, passports and other documents. All surrounding roads have been shut down.
But the measures have failed to persuade UN headquarters in New York and the British foreign office in London that Islamabad is safe from further attacks by al Qa'eda and Taliban militants.
"It used to be calm, leafy and relaxed here but now I would say it is too dangerous for families to be here," said Miriam O'Shea, 29, a British mother of one whose husband works with a non-governmental organisation.
"The problem is that you have a level of threat that is similar to Kabul but without the security set-up that you have there."
The Marriott bombing intensified fears about the so-called "Talibanisation" of Pakistan, with extremism spreading from the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, through northwestern Pakistan and now into Islamabad.
In a further sign of the instability, around 20 suspected Islamist militants including some Arabs were killed when suspected US missiles hit buildings in two villages in the North Waziristan tribal region on Friday night, intelligence officials said.
Islamabad itself has been hit by at least six bombings since the start of 2007, one of them hitting the Danish Embassy and another targeting an Italian restaurant that was one of the only places to sell wine to foreigners.
Nerves were also rattled by the deadly storming of the Red Mosque in July last year.
But the Marriott bombing was the final straw for the international community, as its six luxury restaurants were the prime meeting place for expatriates as well as members of the Pakistani elite. The blast killed the Czech ambassador, two US military personnel, a Vietnamese woman and a Danish intelligence agent.
British Airways announced two days after the blast that it was suspending all flights to Islamabad and closing its office, located in the plush Serena Hotel.
The British foreign office then announced on Wednesday that about 60 children of British employees, all under eight years old, would be pulled out of the Pakistani capital.
Maria, a German woman who did not want to give her full name, said her child attends the Islamabad British School but was now left with nowhere to go because the school was shutting down.
"We really don't know what to do next," she said. "The situation is becoming very difficult in Islamabad."
Yet it was the UN decision that has proved the watershed for most expatriates.
It announced on Thursday that it had moved to "security phase three" in Islamabad, meaning that children of foreign staff and possibly their spouses have to leave.
Diplomatic sources in Islamabad said the decision was delayed by a week so as not to coincide with the UN General Assembly, where Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan president, was making his maiden address.
"A number of recent security incidents including the bombing of the Marriott have drawn attention to the security situation in Pakistan and the potential risks to the international and national communities," said Fikret Akcura, the UN co-ordinator in Pakistan.
He said the situation would be monitored and was not permanent.
But Mrs O'Shea said she and her family now hoped to move.
"We are definitely looking at getting out - as soon as we have got a country and a job to go to."
For most Pakistanis, already beset by a collapsing economy, a plummeting rupee and hours of power cuts a day, evacuation is not an option.
Islamabad's inhabitants increasingly find that an important part of the city is effectively out of bounds to them unless they have a security pass allowing them into the huge Red Zone complex.
In the rest of the capital, traffic queues are common at roadblocks and many Pakistanis are becoming scared to send their children to school for fear of further attacks.
This year's Eid celebrations were unusually subdued in Islamabad as the crowds of revellers who usually flock to parks and the city zoo chose to stay at home instead.
"Things have never been this bad. I have changed my route to work to avoid official buildings but I get nervous when I am stuck at the checkpoints," said Abdul Haseeb Awan, a telecommunications engineer.
The government vows it will beat the militants, with state media quoting Rehman Malik, the interior ministry chief, as saying this week it will "continue war against terrorism till elimination of terrorists or they left the country".
Islamabad residents, however, are pessimistic.
"We feel really frightened now but we do not think the government can change things," Mr Awan said.
nraven@thenational.ae
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
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Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Sassuolo v Bologna (11.45pm)
Saturday
Brescia v Torino (6pm)
Inter Milan v Verona (9pm)
Napoli v Genoa (11.45pm)
Sunday
Cagliari v Verona (3.30pm)
Udinese v SPAL (6pm)
Sampdoria v Atalanta (6pm)
Lazio v Lecce (6pm)
Parma v Roma (9pm)
Juventus v Milan (11.45pm)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press