No US-Iran peace talks in sight, but Islamabad maintains security blockade

For almost a week, the federal capital has been waiting for peace talks between the United States and Iran to take place there, and although there is no sign of the two sides meeting, much of the city remains isolated by authorities.

The main roads leading to Islamabad are closed and a strict security cordon surrounds the administrative center, the so-called “Red Zone”. In the adjacent “Blue Area,” cafes have run out of fruit, markets are deserted and, with no service at bus terminals, weekend travelers are struggling to get home.

Administration officials say the measures won’t end anytime soon and are always ready for delegates, including US President Donald Trump, to show up at a moment’s notice. “We’ve been told talks could happen any day,” one official said.

The current lockdown is the second in two weeks. Islamabad was first closed for talks between US and Iranian delegations on April 11, which ended without a deal. The city briefly reopened and then closed again as Pakistan hopes to host a second round that has yet to materialize.

For residents, the uncertainty has become the hardest part. Islamabad is a city of commuters, where many residents work during the week and return to their family homes on weekends. Now, that pattern has been interrupted.

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Rizwana Raees, 35, arrived at the intercity bus terminal on Thursday with a weekend bag, hoping to reach her hometown of Abbottabad for the first time in two weeks. The terminal was empty, there were no buses or departures.

“Sometimes the government and the media say the delegations are coming, sometimes they say no,” he said after calling his family for help. “No one knows and right now, even if they come, no one will believe it until they see pictures and videos of them here.”

In the end, her brother managed to arrange a rideshare through an online group to take her home.

Abdur Rehman ‌Irshad, bus station manager, said the terminal had been closed for five to six days, cutting off more than 1,000 passengers each day. “People come here because it’s a popular station,” he said. “But they send them back.”

No strawberries and no news.

In the lobby of a luxury hotel in Islamabad, journalists who have come to the city from all over the world to report on the talks have settled into their own limbo. Camera crews remain ready. The equipment is ready. Phones are checked and rechecked.

But after a week of waiting, there is little to report.

“I don’t know how many times I’ll have to ask for my clothes to be washed,” said Fadi Mansour, Al Jazeera’s White House correspondent, who had flown in from Washington for what he thought would be a short trip. “We really don’t know where we’re going.”

The disruption has also affected the city’s food supply. Saif-ur-Rehman Abbasi, 36, a fruit and vegetable seller, said trucks carrying produce had been held up for days outside the city’s sealed perimeter.

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“You cannot have fruits and vegetables trapped in transport vehicles outside the city: they are sensitive and perishable,” he said. “We have rent to pay and a business to run.”

At a popular cafe in the Blue Area, staff said they had run out of strawberries and other ingredients were also in short supply.

The surrounding market was eerily quiet, with residents opting to avoid long detours around the closed Red Zone to reach the commercial area.

“When Islamabad opens, Hormuz closes,” said a cafe waiter, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, a sticking point in the negotiations. “When Hormuz opens, Islamabad closes.”

As of Friday, both remained blocked and there was no end in sight for either of them.