Police seal nine sheesha ‘cafes’ in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: In a late-night joint operation, the district administration and police sealed nine sheesha cafés in Bahria Town’s Souk Center, arresting 64 individuals including four women, and seizing 110 flavoured hookahs, officials confirmed on Sunday.

The raids, targeting illegal indoor sheesha hubs, follow mounting public outcry over the proliferation of such establishments across the capital. Cases have been registered against all suspects under Section 144.

Sheesha cafes have long been banned in the country but in the recent years, a few joints opened up secretly providing sheesha facilities to consumers. The number, however, grew with various Sheesha joint in most sectors of the city.

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Over 108 sheesha centres are still operating in main sectors like F-6 to F-11, E-7, I-8 as well as private housing societies. Locals allege café owners enjoy patronage from “influential figures,” paralysing enforcement.

A resident lamented that the district administration had given up all resistence in front of those running Sheesha joints and urged the Chief Commissioner Islamabad crack down on “all narcotics peddlers, regardless of form.”

A police officer, speaking anonymously, implied that a “Sindh-based official” was involved in giving them protective cover, calling operators “an organised mafia.” While authorities can seal cafés and file cases, political pressure prevents sustained action. Citizens urged the government to include hookah cafés in its Nasha Ab Nahi campaign, with one parent pleading: “Stop those poisoning our children’s blood.”