Container crawl: Bani Gala reopens

Access to Imran’s house restored, roadblocks removed from other city roads

ISLAMABAD: Police removed all blockades on the roads leading to Imran Khan’s Bani Gala residence soon after the PTI chairman announced the postponement of their planned protest.

The party would instead hold a rally at parade ground today (Wednesday).

Residents of the capital woke up on Tuesday expecting a virtual lockdown of the city, as the police had partially closed Kashmir Highway at Golra Mor and blocked off all entrances to the Red Zone with shipping containers. Police were ready to seal the Red Zone and Kashmir Highway to stop a PTI caravan from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from entering the capital.

The police, administration, and the public were relieved to find that PTI workers had stopped and were instead heading back from the Burhan Interchange on the motorway near Attock.

All major roads in Islamabad – except the Serena Hotel entrance to the Red Zone, and the Kashmir Highway portion near the same hotel – remained open throughout the day. The two closed routes both lead to the Diplomatic Enclave. However, they were also opened by evening time.

Police also ended their virtual blockade of Khan’s Bani Gala residence, which has now turned into a gathering point for party workers from across the country.

Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, GT Road still blocked

Shipping containers blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway as well as the GT Road at several points throughout the day.

A National Highways and Motorway Police spokesperson said traffic from the motorway was being diverted to GT Road at Swabi. He added that GT Road was still blocked with containers at Attock Bridge and Wah Gardens. The spokesperson said that the roads were likely to be opened on Tuesday night. He said the Islamabad-Lahore section of the motorway and GT Road were both open for all traffic.

Containers were being removed from the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway and GT Road when this report was filed.

Clashes

The day was not without incident, however, as the police arrested over a dozen party workers, including PTI Punjab Information Secretary Andaleeb Abbas, while they were attempting to go to Bani Gala. Abbas was released after a short detention, while other party workers arrested in the morning were also released later in the day. By evening, a large number of workers from the twin cities and other parts of the country had gathered at Bani Gala, leading to traffic jams on the narrow uphill road leading to Imran’s house.

PTI workers bailed

An assistant commissioner, meanwhile, also accepted bail applications of over a 100 PTI workers who had been arrested by the Islamabad Police over the past few days.  Since October 27, the police have booked and arrested at least 318 workers and supporters of PTI and PML-Q.

Mixed reactions from workers

PTI workers, though, had mixed reactions on the decision of their party leadership’s postponement announcement.

While some thought the PTI should have gone ahead with their protest and forced Nawaz Sharif out, others were happy that their struggle had resulted in a Supreme Court-appointed inquiry into the Panama Papers.

There was, however, a widespread sense that the government had prevailed over PTI in this latest battle. They also agreed that the party could not mobilise enough supporters to put real pressure on the government. “[Imran Khan] is not politically mature. He has played into the government’s hands,” said a party worker who had come from Mansehra.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2016.