Protests: Lahore airport re-opened after 7 hours

LAHORE:

Allama Iqbal International Airport resumed operations after a seven hour long sit-in blocking the entry and exit routes to the airport were cleared after negotiations.

The Shia community staged the sit-in to condemn Saturday’s Quetta bomb blast.

Initially the police managed to keep the protestors away however, their swelling numbers forced the police to retreat, allowing the protesters to block the entry and exit points of the airport.

Superintendent of Police (Operations) Cantonment Maroof Safdar Wahla told The Express Tribune that they tried to convince the protesters to leave by way of negotiations, instead of using force.

The protesters, according to reports, have now allowed people access to the airport but the sit-in continues.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2013.