Hospitals put on alert ahead of long march

Traders ask political parties to stage protest rallies outside city

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi district administration has put all hospitals on alert ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s expected long march.

According to the Rawalpindi Commissioner's office spokesman, allied hospitals’ administrations have been directed to take on board private hospitals to cope with possible emergencies.

He said that police have also been directed to conduct mock exercises in collaboration with hospital administrations.

He said that the safety of the life and property of the residents of Rawalpindi was our priority, for which foolproof security would be arranged.

He said that traffic police have been directed to remove encroachments, especially from Fawara Chowk so that there was no problem in accessing hospitals.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi Medical University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Muhammad Umar said that a comprehensive plan had been devised to deal with emergencies.

He said that all necessary arrangements were in place, including the availability of medicine, allocation of beds, and deployment of essential staff at the hospitals.

Meanwhile, the business community has raised its voice against the PTI’s long march and road closures.

The associations of traders of the garrison city expressed concern over agitation politics and road closures and appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the state institutions to intervene and restore the economy.

The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) and Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries (RCSTSI) have also appealed to do away with protests and sit-ins to allow traders do business without interruption.

In this regard, traders Saqib Rafiq, Sohail Altaf, Tariq Jadoon and others appealed to politicians to abandon the politics of protest and closure of roads for the revival of the economy.

They said that children were not going to school and business activities were affected due to incessant protests and sit-ins. They appealed to the chief justice and state institutions to intervene to find a way out of the current situation so that the traders and daily wage workers could earn a living and the economy could be restored.

Mir said that the trade community was concerned about the situation of the country's economy. He warned that the current situation was harmful to the country's economy. “The state institutions should intervene and find a way to keep the economy going,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2022