ISLAMABAD: Malik Shahjahan from Khushab district has been religiously camping outside the Parliament House with his family to bring Dr Tahirul Qadri’s “revolution”.

Suddenly he looks ill at ease.

“It looks we will spend our Eidul Azha on the Constitution Avenue as the dialogue between the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leadership and the government does not seem making any progress,” he said.

But his real worry is not political but religious. The festival of sacrifice will be arriving before “the revolution” and he feels guilty he will not be able to slaughter an animal the traditional way.

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Shahjahan, 49, had strong religious background and sacrificed an animal every year over the past 20 years as head of the family. “I always bought a goat about one month before Eid but that does not look possible with me sitting here,” he said.

Ahmed Hayat Baloch, camping at the sit-in with his family, also faces the same quandary but wants to go back to their home in Dera Ghazi Khan to perform the religious duty.

“We live in DG Khan City,” he said. “While it is difficult for city dwellers to keep sacrificial animals at home, I like to feed and raise mine for at least a month before Eid,” he added.

He did not see the sit-in participants returning home before Eid and blamed the government.

“It looks the government is not serious to overcome the crisis,” he said. “It is unfortunate that the government is indifferent to the sufferings of the sit-in participants, which are increasing day by day.”

Even if the unexpected happened, he wondered “will it be easy to buy an animal at the high prices that prevail close to the Eid day?”

Muneeb Bhatti, 37, from Faisalabad district, finds it “difficult to stay at the sit-in on Eid day” if the stalemate continued.

“I do believe that Dr Tahirul Qadri wants to change the existing rotten system but it is hard to disappoint my children who are persisting I reach home as soon as possible,” he said.

“They want me to bring a goat along to sacrifice on the big day,” he said, adding “their other demand for new clothes and shoes will be easier to meet though.”

Most participants of the sit-in seemed downcast at the thought that they will be literally spending Eid “on the roads”, with their children in worn out clothes on the happy occasion.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd , 2014