Tears roll down Mohammad Zubair's cheeks as he speaks aboutthe misery of being jobless in Pakistan, cursing the ruling elite and pinninghis hopes for a better future on a populist cleric. "I have travelled toIslamabad from a far-flung village, with empty pockets in the hope that the baddays are over," Zubair stated, shivering without warm winter clothing inthe capital, set in the foothills of the Himalayas.
An estimated 25,000 to 50,000 people have poured intoIslamabad from across the country, devoted followers of moderate preacherTahir-ul Qadri who is calling for the government to step down and radicalreforms. It is the largest protest in the capital since the Pakistan People'sParty won elections in 2008, ending a decade of military rule and forming whatin March will be the country's first civilian government to complete a term inoffice.
But the protesters see that as no achievement. In the lastfive years the economy has flagged, the energy crisis has deteriorated, aTaliban-led insurgency has killed thousands and sectarian violence hasworsened. Coming from all walks of life, but mostly the disenfranchised, they bataside conspiracy theories that Qadri is a pawn of the military to wrest backpower and believe wholeheartedly that the government is to blame for theproblems. "I see a ray of hope in Qadri... he can wipe my tears and putbalm on the nation's wounds," said Zubair, sipping a hot cup of tea, givento him by one of his fellow protestors. Like millions in Pakistan's emergingmiddle class, he graduated from college but has struggled to find a job. Hesays corruption is so blatant that when he applied for a job in the police,they openly demanded 800,000 rupees as a bribe.
When the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf on allegations of corruption in energy deals, the news wasmet with jubilation. "This is great news and we hope to get rid of themonsters and vampires, who have been sucking our blood for ages," saidMohammad Tariq, who travelled with Qadri on a 38-hour journey from the easterncity of Lahore. Islamabad is a purpose-built city created only in the late1960s. Most of its residents are wealthy diplomats, mandarins and foreigners,who leave at the weekends and consider their true homes to be elsewhere."It is the first time in my life this kind of gathering has reached thisplace," said Saeed Faisal Naqvi, wearing a leather jacket.
Qadri addresses the crowd from a transparent, bullet-proofbox and uses a trailer to rest. There are ambulances from his charity on hand,water trucks and public toilets housed in shipping containers. As securityforces have relaxed their presence, vendors have done a roaring trade in spicycrackers, peanuts, corn on the cob and sweets.
Mini dispensaries have also been set up in vehicles fromQadri's religious and education movement, handing out free medicines. Men,women and even some children seem undeterred about spending two nights, campedout on the hard tarmac of Jinnah Avenue that leads to parliament -- men on oneside; women and children on the other. Carpets, rugs and blankets have beenlaid out for protestors to catch up on sleep, snuggled up in quilts andblankets, using their bags as pillows and doing their best to shake off thecold. "We have a cause to fight for and inhospitable weather will notshake our resolve. We will stay here in the open as long as our leader wants,"said Fatima Firdous, a science student from Lahore.
"I am more concerned about our rights and the right toeducation, which have been denied to us by the feudals and the elite class. Itis time to throw them out of the corridors of power and devolve powers to thegrass roots' level," she said.
