穆尼尔·艾哈迈德 伊斯兰堡——每当巴基斯坦首都预计将发生抗议活动时，人们总会看到熟悉的一幕：集装箱被排列在街道两旁，或横置于关键路线上，以限制示威者的行动，防止他们进入敏感区域。
MUNIR AHMED ISLAMABAD — It’s a familiar sight in Pakistan’s capital whenever a protest is expected: shipping containers lined up along streets or placed across key routes to restrict demonstrators’ movement and keep them from reaching sensitive areas.
对于居民而言，这些钢铁屏障已成为一个明确的警示信号，预示着随之而来的街道封锁、交通拥堵，以及伊斯兰堡和邻近的拉瓦尔品第漫长的绕行路线。
For residents, the steel barriers have become an unmistakable warning of what may follow: blocked streets, snarled traffic and long detours across Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi.
最近一次部署是在被囚禁的前总理伊姆兰·汗的支持者举行游行、要求释放他之前进行的。起重机将红色、蓝色和绿色的集装箱从卡车上吊起，并放置在道路沿线。
The latest deployment came ahead of a march by supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan demanding his release. Cranes have lifted red, blue and green containers from trucks and lowered them into place along roads.
原定于9月27日举行的游行被推迟至10月4日，但许多集装箱仍留在原地。自上周以来，警方将它们部署在通往“红区”的关键路线上，该区域是议会、政府机构和外国使馆所在地。
Originally scheduled for Sept. 27, the march was postponed until Oct. 4, but many of the containers remain in place. Since last week, police have positioned them along key routes leading to the Red Zone, home to Parliament, government offices and foreign embassies.
汗曾是一名板球明星，后转型为政治家，是总理谢巴兹·谢里夫的主要政治对手，自2023年起被监禁。他因腐败及其他罪名被判刑，正在服刑多个刑期。汗及其领导的巴基斯坦正义运动党称，这些案件具有政治动机。
Khan, a former cricket star turned politician and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s main political rival, has been imprisoned since 2023. He is serving multiple prison sentences following convictions on corruption and other charges. Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party say the cases are politically motivated.
汗于2022年4月在议会不信任投票中被罢免。在2024年2月8日的议会选举后，议员们选举谢里夫为总理，他随后重返职位。汗的政党称，其执政授权在那次投票中被窃取，但政府否认了这一指控。
Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. Sharif returned to office after lawmakers elected him prime minister following the Feb. 8, 2024, parliamentary election. Khan’s party says its mandate was stolen in that vote, an allegation the government denies.
如今，在伊斯兰堡郁郁葱葱的山丘和绿树成荫的大道背景下，这些色彩鲜艳的集装箱排成一行，格外引人注目。一些集装箱位于繁忙的道路旁，随时准备移动。另一些则堆叠两层，或横置于车道上，将宽阔的大道变成了狭窄且受控的通道。
Now against Islamabad’s green hills and tree-lined avenues, the rows of brightly colored containers are hard to miss. Some sit beside busy roads, ready to be moved. Others are stacked two high or positioned across traffic lanes, turning broad avenues into narrow, controlled passages.
“看起来像是一座集装箱城市，”伊斯兰堡的家庭主妇萨希巴·比比说。
“It looks like a city of containers,” Islamabad housewife Sahiba Bibi said.
她表示，这次抗议活动的混乱局面在示威者从全国各地（尤其是来自西北部的开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省）出发前往伊斯兰堡之前就已经开始了。开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省目前由 Khan 的政党执政。
She said this time the disruption began before demonstrators had even set out for Islamabad from across the country, particularly from northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan’s party governs.
巴基斯坦人民党（PTI）的高层领导表示，他们推迟了示威活动的进程，因为当局封锁了通往首都的主要通道，其中包括阿托克大桥——这条桥梁是开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省车辆前往伊斯兰堡的重要通道。据该党组织者称，他们在预计首席部长索海尔·阿夫里迪（Sohail Afridi）及其支持者会经过的沿途道路上设置了集装箱和带尖刺的金属板。
PTI’s top leadership said it delayed the march because authorities had blocked key approaches to the capital, including Attock Bridge, a major crossing for convoys traveling from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Containers and spiked metal sheets had been placed along the route that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his supporters were expected to take, party organizers said.
即使在道路尚未被封锁的情况下，各种准备工作也导致车道变窄，车辆排起了长队。通勤者们纷纷寻找替代路线；而位于潜在抗议路线附近的商店老板们则在考虑是否应该关闭自己的店铺，因为他们担心一旦发生骚乱或冲突，自己的店铺会遭到破坏。
Even where roads remained open, the preparations narrowed traffic lanes and created long lines of vehicles. Commuters searched for alternate routes, while shopkeepers along potential protest paths weighed whether to close their businesses, fearing damage if unrest or clashes broke out.
当局称他们向集装箱卡车的所有者支付了使用这些集装箱的费用。但一些司机表示，警察会在高速公路上拦截他们，没收他们的车辆并拿走钥匙。一位名叫雷赫马特·古尔（Rehmat Gul）的集装箱卡车司机说，警察曾拦截他并拿走了他的钥匙，随后将他的卡车扣留。他说，那个集装箱后来被放置在拉瓦尔品第（Rawalpindi）附近的一条道路上。
Authorities say they pay rent to owners of container trucks for the use of the containers. But some drivers say police stop them on highways, seize their vehicles and take their keys. Rehmat Gul, a container-truck driver, said police stopped him and took his keys before impounding his truck. The container was later placed on a road near Rawalpindi, he said. “Fuel prices have almost doubled because of the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran,” said Abdul Hafeez, a government employee who commutes from Rawalpindi to Islamabad for work and also drives his children to school.
“由于美国和伊朗之间的紧张关系持续不断，燃油价格几乎翻了一番，”阿卜杜勒·哈菲兹（Abdul Hafeez）说道。这位政府雇员每天需要从拉瓦尔品第开车前往伊斯兰堡上班，同时还要接送孩子上学。“在我们已经难以维持基本生活开支的情况下，这些路障让我们不得不走更远的路。”他说：“如果政府不封锁道路，我们对这些抗议活动并没有意见。”
“At a time when we are already struggling to keep our kitchens running, roadblocks force us to travel farther.”“If the government does not block the roads, we have no problem with these protests,” he said. For many residents, the containers are no longer merely a security measure.
对许多居民来说，这些集装箱早已不再只是简单的安全措施；它们的出现预示着又一次政治冲突的临近，普通人的生活可能会再次受到干扰。然而，政府方面则认为这些预防措施是必要的。
Their arrival signals that another political confrontation is approaching and that ordinary life may be disrupted. The government, however, says the precautions are necessary.
“巴基斯坦正义运动党（PTI）在抗议活动中有破坏和打砸抢的劣迹，其支持者将被禁止进入首都，”信息部长阿塔乌拉·塔拉上周在白沙瓦对记者表示。
“PTI has a track record of disruption and vandalism during protests, and its supporters would not be allowed to enter the capital,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters in Peshawar last week.
阿夫里迪驳斥了政府的这一说法，称巴基斯坦正义运动党的唯一目的是举行和平集会，要求释放伊姆兰·汗。
Afridi rejected the government’s characterization, saying PTI’s sole purpose was to hold a peaceful rally demanding Khan’s release.
2024年11月，当局采取了类似措施，在伊姆兰·汗的支持者试图无视集会禁令前往首都时，封锁了通往伊斯兰堡的道路。警方发射催泪瓦斯驱散抗议者。这段经历让居民们明白，不必等待官方的封路公告。
Authorities used similar measures in November 2024, sealing roads into Islamabad as Khan’s supporters attempted to reach the capital despite a ban on rallies. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. That experience has taught residents not to wait for a formal road-closure announcement.
一旦起重机开始将集装箱吊装就位，许多人便开始改变路线，有些人则开始囤积食物。
Once cranes begin lowering containers into place, many start changing their routes, and some begin stocking up on food.