PTI protest in Rawalpindi against attack on Imran Khan disrupts life.
Around midday, the City Traffic Police issued a press release stating that PTI Protest on both trains had stopped the Old Airport Road. The roadblock forced the traffic to take detours to other roads.
It claimed that demonstrators had blocked Pirwadhai Mor in the direction of IJP Road as well as Murree Road near Iqbal Park on both sides. According to the traffic police, protesters have stopped Sarai Kala Chowk as well as the GT Road near Margalla.
Traffic snarls were caused by these detours throughout the city.
According to Zeeshan, a resident of Kallar Syedan, his cousin was scheduled to leave Pakistan on Monday, but because of blockages, he had to pay Rs. 1,500 to travel from Golra Mor to Islamabad International Airport in order to catch his flight.
Similarly, since the protests began on Monday, thousands of citizens, including kids, traders, patients, and vendors, have been experiencing difficulties. Families, kids, and older folks spent hours each day in traffic jams as a result of these demonstrations.
PTI protesters Couldn’t pass Ambulances
In some cases, the PTI protestors wouldn’t even let ambulances pass through while their sirens were blaring. Even media professionals experienced harassment from the protesters for highlighting issues the public was having as a result of PTI supporters’ roadblocks.
“What is my responsibility,” a Mansehra resident who was stranded in Pirwadhai due to traffic jams retorted, “when I am not being permitted to transport my sick mother to a hospital for an operation.”
PTI Officials Blocked Traffic
Along with a few supporters, PTI officials Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, Raja Rashid Hafeez, and Sheikh Rashid Shafique blocked traffic on Murree Road to organise a demonstration at Shamasabad. The protesters yelled epithets critical of PDM leaders such Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Along with failing to rescue the stranded citizens, the traffic and Rawalpindi police watched passively. On Tuesday, the City Traffic Police helpline received a deluge of calls from members of the public asking for assistance in clearing the roads, but no one listened.
Our country was established for these people who have made our lives miserable, an elderly woman who was criticising PTI supporters for blocking highways in a video stated. After three hours of hardship, I finally arrived here. Standing next to the PTI camp in Shamsabad, the elderly woman grumbled.
Public Holidays
Even though the Pindi administration had declared public holidays on November 8 and 9 in the tehsil in preparation for protests, several institutions were still open, leaving parents of schoolchildren torn between sending their children to school or not. Having recently moved to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia, an expatriate family was considering returning since they believed that these conditions made it unsafe for their kids to attend school.
Similarly, business owners who had suffered losses as a result of the protests urged that the government compensate them and grant them holidays if it were unable to deal with the “daily recurrence” of protests.
The business community also voiced its displeasure with the state of law and order in the twin cities and requested that the police and district administration intervene to repress the demonstrators.
The PTI supporters’ road roadblock continued till dusk, and the public continued to experience problems.
