PESHAWAR: The provincial capital on Monday saw severe traffic gridlock for hours as a mob protesting the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, blocked the major Khyber Road.

The Khyber Road, which provides direct and shorter access to the University Road area from the city, was closed at around 11am when from 200 to 300 members of the ‘Movement for the Release of Mumtaz Qadri’ blocked it.

The protesters marched from Hashtnagri to the GT Road and crossed a security force checkpoint before staging a sit-in on the road outside the provincial assembly.

Shouting slogans, the protesters torn banners along the GT Road.

Among the protesters led by the movement’s provincial chief, Shafiq Amin Qadri, were residents of Peshawar, Charsadda and Khyber Agency.

The police fired four to five teargas shells to stop protesters from marching on the road, where key government buildings, including civil secretariat, police lines and military offices, are located.

The police deployed contingents along the rally route in large numbers.

Mr. Shafiq Amin told protesters that US citizen Raymond Davis was set free under the official patronage though he killed three Pakistanis but ironically, Mumtaz Qadri, a true lover of Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), had been hanged.

Religious parties take out rallies, hold funerals in absentia

He asked protesters to attend Mumtaz Qadri’s funeral scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh today (Tuesday).

The protesters later dispersed peacefully.

The closure of Khyber Road brought the traffic in the city to a standstill as hundreds of vehicles crawled at a snail’s pace. The traffic was bumper to bumper.

The University Road, Sunehri Masjid Road, Charsadda Road and GT Road saw traffic congestion, which badly affected the interior city, Shami Road and other parts of the city, too.

Local resident Salman Khan said he was returning home after dropping guests at the Haji Camp bus station when he got stuck in a traffic jam.

“It took me around three hours to reach Saddar from the Haji Camp area. I also saw several ambulances stuck in the traffic jam,” he said.

A traffic police official said the protest began at around 10:50am and lasted until 1pm.

He said the Arbab Sikandar flyover, Hashtangri area, and roads on both sides of the Army Stadium and University Road saw severe traffic congestion forcing hundreds of motorists to move on inch by inch.

The official said usually, traffic jam was reported across the city on every Monday and if a major artery was closed on that day, it resulted into the virtual closure of all city roads.

“The same thing happened today after the closure of the Khyber Road, which led to the clogging of all major and minor routes,” he added.

Also in the day, the Jamaat-i-Islami staged a protest against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri.

JI chief Senator Sirajul Haq led funeral prayers in absentia for Salmaan Taseer’s killer near Jinnah Park.

From 300 to 400 party workers attended a function at the Auqaf Hall on Charsadda Road before staging a protest near Jinnah Park.

The JI chief told protesters to take out rallies against the hanging of Qadri until Friday on daily basis.

He said the day was the darkest in the country’s history.

“Mumtaz Qadri’s hanging will lead to the end of the incumbent federal government,” he said.

Sirajul Haq said his party would observe protests against the hanging in the country from Monday to Friday.

He said JI would never allow anyone to change the blasphemy law.

Later, the JI chief led the funeral prayers for Qadri in absentia.

In the afternoon, the Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-i-Nubuwwat took out a rally from Qasim Ali Khan Majid in Misagaran Bazaar of the interior city.

The protesters walked up to Qissa Khawani bazaar and offered fateha for Mumtaz Qadri. They later dispersed peacefully.

In a statement, JUI-F provincial chief Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan condemned the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri.

He said there were thousands of murder cases pending with the country’s courts but the Mumtaz Qadri case was decided in an ‘unholy haste’.

He said the JUI-F activists would stage a protest in the city today (Tuesday).

Meanwhile, leaders and workers of religious parties took to the streets in Mardan to protest Mumtaz Qadri’s handing.

A rally was jointly organised by them.

The protesters were led by JUI-F former MPA Maulana Amanat Shah, Jamaat Ahl-i-Sunat leader Hafiz Shah Room, PML (labour wing) district president Haji Inam and others.

The protest began from the Bacha Khan Chowk and ended at Pakistan Chowk after passing through various roads and bazaars.

They blocked the busy bazaar of the city for two to three hours for all kinds of traffic.

The speakers said ‘anti-Islam’ policies of the government would cause dangerous consequences for the country.

They announced they would march in the shape of a caravan to attend the funeral prayers of Mumtaz Qadri in Rawalpindi.

On the occasion, PML-N labour wing district president Haji Inam announced he would quit the party to register protest against Mumtaz Qadri’s hanging.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2016