Protest demonstration: Rallies bring Rawalpindi to a standstill

Gridlock also overflowed into parts of Islamabad

RAWALPINDI: Traffic on the main roads of the garrison city was paralysed from rush hour till late in the evening on Wednesday as the district administration and police failed to chalk out a proper plan for multiple rallies taken out by religious organisations.

Gridlock had also overflowed into parts of Islamabad, where major roads connecting the twin cities saw long, stagnant queues of traffic.

Prolonged traffic jams and long queues of vehicles were seen on Benazir Bhutto Road, Islamabad Expressway, Rawal Road, Tipu Road, Airport Road, IJ Principal Road, Saidpur Road, and other arteries of the city, with reports pouring in until 10 pm of traffic being at a standstill.

Traffic started backing up at around five o’clock — the afternoon rush hour — after the traffic police blocked Benazir Bhutto Road from Chandni Chowk to Committee Chowk to allow the procession through.



The police diverted traffic coming from Islamabad to Rawal Road. Traffic wardens stopped traffic from crossing the Chandni Chowk flyover, forcing vehicles to either go towards Commercial Market on the right or Rawal Road on the left.

The wardens also blocked traffic coming from Saddar towards Committee Chowk. Vehicles had to take U-turns as they were not allowed to access Iqbal Road towards Raja Bazaar. The blockade put extra pressure on Liaquat Road and Gawalmandi Road, besides major streets in Dhoke Khabba and Dhoke Chiragh Din.

The rush hour traffic quickly piled up on every road and connecting side street. The absence of traffic wardens at major intersections such as Rawal Chowk, Chandni Chowk, Commercial Market, Rialto Chowk, and Saidpur Road, where traffic lights are often out-of-order, made the situation even worse.

“I left my office in Blue Area at five in the afternoon. I live in Tench Bhatta and I use BB Road. When I crossed Sixth Road flyover, I saw long queues of vehicles on Benazir Bhutto Road’, said Hadayat Ahmed, who drives a car.

Ahmed said that he had no choice but to use Rawal Road. He added that he used a road that passed in front of Abrar Surgery Hospital in Sadiqabad to reach Chandni Chowk. He added that when he reached Rawal Chowk, traffic was a mess due to the absence of wardens. He said there was also traffic congestion near Fauji Towers on Tipu Road. Ahmed said that he had to go to Airport and then towards Saddar, adding that getting home took well over two hours.

Road rage was also evident as drivers and commuters were seen scuffling on the roads.

A traffic warden present at Marrir Chowk told The Express Tribune that the procession was related to Jannat-ul-Baqi Day. The procession started from Waris Khan and marched towards Raja Bazaar via Benazir Bhutto Road and Iqbal Road.

The warden said that the BB Road was closed for security purposes and the traffic had to be diverted. He admitted that traffic kept getting worse as the evening progressed.

The rally had been organised by Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqa-Jafria and other organisations to mark the razing of graves of significant figures in Islamic history by the Saudi government in 1926.

The Express Tribune tried to contact City Police Officer Iftikharul Haq for comment, but the officer was not available.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2016.