ISLAMABAD: The unexpected long stay of the protesters has proven too exhaustive for their bus drivers. 

The buses were initially hired for three days, but even after the passage of 21 days, the homesick drivers have no idea when Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan will call off the sit-ins and they will get to meet their families. 

Most buses were hired by the Inqilab marchers, who started their journey from Lahore on August 14. 

Also read: Islamabad stand-off: All eyes on negotiations to break deadlock

The drivers say their long stay here has disturbed their household budget. 

“Being a daily-wage earner, I used to buy kitchen ration daily.  But due to my stay here, my family is facing problems in running the kitchen and other day to day affairs,” says Mahmood Khan, a bus driver. 

They say their long stay here has disturbed their household budget

He said that, according to an agreement with Pakistan Awami Tehreek, the bus drivers were supposed to drop the protesters back at Model Town Lahore from Islamabad after three days. 

“Had I known my stay here would be for such a long time, I would have refused to come,” frustrated Khan said. 

Another driver, Nadeem Asghar, who brought the protesters from Gujrat, said that his family has been missing him for the last three-weeks. 

He said his family has been seeing the sit-ins on television and whenever Tahirul Qadri sets a deadline his family starts to think that the dharna is going to end. 

“Now he has started to say that he will not return unless his “mission” is accomplished, which is an improbability,” he said. 

Talking to Dawn, a number of drivers said that there was no issue of payment of fare, as PAT had hired most buses through brokers, who were responsible for the payment. 

Besides, PAT has a good track record vis-à-vis payment, they said, adding currently the owners of the buses and the drivers are being paid partially. 

“Rest of our payment will be released when we complete our journey back to Lahore… but we have no idea when Qadri sahib will end his sit-in,” said Mohammad Nawaz, a Lahore-based driver. 

He, however, said that PAT organisers were paying Rs500 daily for food to each driver. 

The drivers said that the 48-seat buses were hired for Rs40,000 each for the complete ride.  Currently, PAT has agreed to pay an additional Rs6,000 daily to each bus owner. 

Besides, the 32-seat buses were hired for Rs15,000 and now, in addition to this, PAT has agreed to pay them Rs3,000 daily. 

The drivers, who could be seen sitting on various greenbelts, waiting for the marchers, said that although they were being paid for food, they were facing a number of other problems. 

“We have to go to G-7 market to use the toilets and fight mosquitoes on the greenbelts during the night,” said Mohammad Ramzan, a driver, who brought PTI workers from Lahore. 

Most of the hired buses of PTI have returned to Lahore and various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Meanwhile, according to the drivers, during the last two days, hundreds of PAT workers had left for their hometowns in 20 buses. 

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2014