Senior executives from two ISPs and an official from the Defence Ministry told AJE that trials of this new firewall, installed as part of Pakistan’s internet infrastructure, were responsible for a spate of complaints of poor internet connectivity in the country in recent months.

I did finally make it to Jinnah Avenue from the F-7 side after crossing Parbat Rd [also the only place where we were stopped for a quick chat by police guy]. Entered on JA from Marvi Rd and made a U-Turn after Attock pump, the only little stretch one could really get to drive on the road.

From this point onwards, getting on Jinnah Ave became an almost unsolvable-puzzle, as entry points near UBL and Beverly/PSO pump were all blocked by containers. Barely any security presence but more surprisingly, no PTI-supporters who still made their presence felt in October's protest call.

Saw containers dressed in green while driving on Ataturk Ave, where a month ago hundreds of police personnel were deployed. Tonight, a single police vehicle, 3-4 media DSNGs and couple of reporters filming. Also stopped by Chunkyard on Nazimuddin Rd to pick up slice of brownie, before they closed.

But then, as I moved towards D-Chowk and trying to get access to Jinnah Avenue, is when containers started to make their presence felt in a more obstructive manner. NAB office road gate was closed, of course, but also had containers placed. D-Chowk and Marriot gates were also locked + containered.

Constitutional Avenue was just great, with not a single container anywhere nor any security for that matter, allowing us to drive all the way towards Serena.
PMO was all lit up in green, as was the Supreme Court building. Also saw this strange looking peacock replica outside NA.

Fully expected to be stopped towards F-6 after Hill Road but with a nod and wave, the policeman on duty waved us away. The road has a newly installed gate plus there were containers placed on the side but traffic was allowed to move freely. Also passed by the DCI which had little security present.

Margalla Road was open down till Golra, with couple of container-laden truck parked under the new interchange on Sh. Iran, ready to be deployed if/when needed.

Past midnight so obviously thin traffic but it was fairly evident that it was still less than usual, esp what one sees on a weekend.

Just drove around Islamabad for an hour, covering areas from F-11 to all of Constitutional Avenue and then Nazimuddin Road.

Turns out it rained all over the city and the AQI right now is around 80ish or so, making it absolutely a joy to drive in this rather lovely weather.