Roadblock: Political gathering causes traffic jam

Major U-turn on a street from Jauhar Chowrangi to Jauhar Morr barricaded

KARACHI: Commuters making their way through Jauhar Morr were caught in a pickle amidst Pak Sarzameen Party's (PSP) public engagement campaign ahead of its 'million march' on Saturday evening.

One of the major U-turns on a street from Jauhar Chowrangi to Jauhar Morr was barricaded, queuing up traffic all the way from Jauhar Chowrangi till Millennium Mall. The traffic coming from Rashid Minhas Road was also blocked till the mall.



On Saturdays, there is usually a lot of traffic on these routes. "With these political campaigns and road blockades, traffic becomes a nightmare," said a resident of Jauhar Town, Fawad Maqsood. A traffic police constable deployed at Jauhar Morr, requesting anonymity, said that traffic will naturally become a disaster if one blocks such busy streets on Saturday nights. "Our job is to maintain traffic," he said, adding that he did not barricade the U-turn, neither did any authority ask them before barricading it.

Responding to these traffic jams complaints, PSP's Waseem Aftab said they don't want the public to suffer because of them. The PSP, he said, arranged a sit-in at the Karachi Press Club but everything remained normal and peaceful in the city. "We are not on the roads for ourselves but for the city," he maintained. "The public will have to face difficulty for some time for the betterment of the society." However, he said they will try their best that the public does not suffer because of their protest.

East Traffic SP Erum Awan said no one took permission from them before blocking the U-turn. "The roads in that area are already very narrow and we would not allow anyone to block them," she said, assuring that she will look into the matter. Meanwhile, East District Commissioner Nadim Abro was not available for comments.