ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: Just days after the sit-in of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) ended at Faizabad and the residents of twin cities took a sigh of relief, main roads in the federal capital and Rawalpindi were blocked again before rallies of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leaders and workers arrived for a sit-in against rising inflation and inflated power bills on Friday.

To avoid road blockades and traffic hassle, the employees of the federal government and private sector in Islamabad were allowed to leave offices by 3:00pm.

The Islamabad district administration and police made efforts to ensure that the federal capital remained completely sealed by late afternoon and containers were used to block Murree Road leading towards Rawal Dam Chowk, Faizabad Interchange and Faisal Avenue under the bridge at Zero Point. Besides, strict security arrangements were made with blockades put at various arteries to stop the protesters from gathering in the city.

Personnel of law enforcement agencies were deployed in the federal capital and citizens were asked to avoid participating in any unauthorised activity.

Containers put at entry, exit points, JI protesters stopped from entering capital, 15 workers detained from D-Chowk

Like many parts of Punjab, Section 144 was also imposed in Rawalpindi. In order to enforce the provincial government’s ban on protests, sit-ins and unauthorised gatherings, the security level was placed on high alert in the garrison city with the deployment of 3000 police personnel on Friday.

A police spokesman said the security level had been put on high alert and Section 144 enforced in Rawalpindi.

Police were deployed on Murree Road, metro bus stations and other important places across the city.

Moreover, entry and exit points of the city were blocked.

CPO Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani said there was no compromise on the rule of law and the safety of the life and property of citizens, adding all resources will be used to ensure foolproof security and efficient traffic arrangements.

Despite all these efforts, however, several JI supporters reached D-Chowk and were taken away by the Islamabad police.

Talking to Dawn, a senior official of Islamabad police said only 15 workers of the party were apprehended and shifted to the police station, but were not formally arrested.

JI supporters and even its leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman had reached the 1-8 interchange by the evening and no action was taken by the police to disperse the gathering there.

In Rawalpindi, the JI workers gathered at the Rawalpindi office of the party at Marrir Chowk and held a rally. The rally participated by local leaders and workers reached Liaquat Bagh where they were stopped by the police from proceeding to Islamabad.

The participants of the rally chanted slogans against the government for its anti-people budget and increase in the tariff of electricity. They said it was difficult for people to pay Rs30,000 to Rs50,000 electricity bills.

The speakers said the salaried class suffered a lot as they had to pay more than 25 per cent tax while the elite class was given relief in the budget.

Meanwhile, road users, especially office goers from Rawalpindi to Islamabad, faced lots of hardship due to the blockades of main roads and gridlocks on the others.

The metro bus service remained suspended forcing commuters to travel on foot at many places. Taxi drivers refused to go to Murree Road due to traffic rush and people were also seen waiting on roads or walking towards their destinations due to the absence of public transport. The citizens criticised the government for its inability to stop such sit-ins.

The residents of the garrison city faced the most as all roads connecting to Murree Road leading to Islamabad remained closed at three places. People living on both sides of the main road remained disconnected from each other. It has become a practice for law enforcement agencies to impound containers and place them on roads during any protest rally or sit-in.

“I wanted to go to Aabpara but the wagon driver dropped us at Sadiqabad as there was a rush on Double Road,” said Sajid Ahmed, a commuter. He said the closure of the road at Faizabad led to gridlocks in the whole area. He said that it was difficult to use private or public transport on Murree Road during a rally.

Niamat Raja, a commuter at Chandni Chowk, said that the traffic police failed to devise alternative routes and diverted all traffic to Double Road which created a mess. “The metro bus service was also closed. The government created more problems for the residents,” he said.

Imtiaz Ahmed, a resident of Peshawar Road, said that traffic problems had disturbed the routine life of the local residents. He said that he had to go to his office in the Blue Area and had to change three public transports.

He said that for women employees, it was difficult to reach their destinations as they mostly used the metro bus service.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024