RAWALPINDI: The twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were virtually cut off from most parts of the country after traffic on the Grand Trunk (GT) Road and railway service to and from Lahore were suspended in the wake of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)’s protest rally from Lahore to Islamabad.

“As the main bridge over Jhelum River was closed, all trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore have stopped operations,” said a senior Pakistan Railways official.

The GT Road was already closed at Jhelum to prevent the TLP rally from moving to Islamabad.

Mohammad Naseer, a passenger at the Rawalpindi railway station, said he reached the railway station to go to Lahore as there were reports of a protest rally on the GT Road.

Ahsan Malik said he wanted to go to Gujranwala but no transport was available.

When contacted, Usman Anwar, Pakistan Railways Divisional Commercial Officer, said the train service to Lahore was suspended but the Rawalpindi-Peshawar track was opened.

After closure of G.T. Road, railway authorities suspend service between Rawalpindi and Lahore

He said as soon as the Jhelum bridge would be opened, the train service would resume.

Murree Road still sealed

The closure of roads towards Islamabad from Rawalpindi city continued on Thursday.

Murree Road and its sliproadswere blocked bycontainersand cordoned off by the police. Civil Lines, Jhanda Chichi, Chaklala Scheme-III and Garibabad and other localities have been affected due to the road closures.

Markets, petrol pumps and CNG stations in the area also remainedclosed.

Educational institutions on Murree Road remained closed for the second day and would not open on Friday as well.

Some women were seen stuck at Kutchery Chowk. “We had gone to Moti Bazaar for shopping and when reached Marrir Chowk the road wasclosedand there was no public transport,” said Salamat Bibi, a resident of Rehmatabad near Chaklala.

Meanwhile, 11 of the 142 TLP activists arrested from the twin cities were released from Adiala Jail.

More than 320 activists of the banned outfit had been listed for detention in order to prevent them from joining the protest march to Islamabad.

Security in the garrison city remained on high alert as police have been deployed at various points.

The district police officers of four districts of Punjab reported to Regional Police Officer Rawalpindi Imran Ahmar along with extra force.

All the six district police chiefs who had been directed to report to the RPO Rawalpindi along with extra police force have been stationed in Jhelum to prevent the TLP march to Islamabad.

Diplomats briefed on security measures

Officers of the capital police met diplomats of different countries to address their security concerns.

Senior officers of the capital administration told Dawn on condition of anonymity that a number of embassies had raised concerns over the security of diplomats, staff and the Diplomatic Enclave.

Over the concerns, the police held a meeting with diplomats of over a dozen countries, mostly from Europe, inside the Diplomatic Enclave.

The meeting was attended by police officers and foreign police liaison officers of the embassies.

During the meeting, the police informed them about the security measures in and around the enclave.

There are six entry points to the enclave and two of them were already closed permanently. After the announcement of the protest march, two more entry points were sealed.

The remaining entry points of the zone and the enclave will be sealed if the TLP march succeeded to reach Rawat. In such a case, only one point each at the enclave and the zone would remain open.

Paramilitary troops along with police are also being deployed in and around the enclave and the zone.

The officers concerned of other embassies were also contacted by the security division to inform them about the security measures.

Meanwhile, 6,000 personnel of police and paramilitary troops reached the capital from Punjab, KP and AJK.

There are 2,500 personnel, including officials of the capital police, performing duties and their number would increase to 6,000 per shift when the march reaches near Rawat.

Moreover, 270 containers have been arranged to seal different roads, the officers said, adding 190 were put around the Diplomatic Enclave and the remaining at Faizabad, Murree Road Bhara Kahu, Kak Bridge Islamabad Expressway, Sihala and I.J. Principal Road.

Gujar Khan

As the TLP rally headed to Islamabad, many link roads leading to GT Road were sealed.

Both sides of the bridge over River Jhelum were also sealed by installing containers and parking loaded trucks on it.

The sealed roads included those linking Punjab and Kashmir from Jattlan and Bhimber, Mangla bridge and bypass, and roads between Jhelum and Pind Dadan Khan.

Similarly, the Bhai Khan bridge near Gujar Khan has been partially sealed with containers.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2021