Life limps back to normalcy in Pindi

RAWALPINDI:

A day after violent protests over the arrest of Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) chief and former prime minister Imran Khan, life returned to normalcy in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

However, stringent security arrangements remained in place to prevent any untoward situation as the milieu of fear continued to prevail in the city.

Traffic was less than normal on major highways including the main Murree Road as public transport and metro bus services remained suspended.

Businesses in garrison city were back to their bustling self after the removal of roadblocks by the police as major centres along Murree Road.

Mall Road and all roads in Cantonment, however, remained completely sealed by installing containers and other roadblocks. Barbed wires were placed along the highway passing through Saddar.

The overall situation in Rawalpindi city and Cantonment remained calm throughout the day on Wednesday.

In view of the possible protests, a heavy contingent of police and elite commandos had been deployed on major roads and main highways.

Murree Road, Mall Road, Airport Road, GT Road, Peshawar Road and Faizabad Interchange were opened to traffic after they were closed during the protest by the PTI workers.

In view of the threat of protests, all private and government banks in Rawalpindi Cantonment and City closed due to which citizens faced difficulties in carrying out transactions.

Law enforcement agencies had completely sealed Mall Road from AFIC Chowk to GPO Chowk and from Kachehry Chowk to PC Chowk by installing containers and other roadblocks.

The police had also barricaded link roads and on certain parts of Murree Road by placing barbed wire.

Th metro bus service between the twin cities and between Islamabad city and the Islamabad airport remained suspended after PTI workers caused damage to the infrastructure and various stations. People faced severe problems in commuting between the twin cities.

According to metro bus officials, the PTI protesters have completely burned the Sixth Road metro bus station after vandalising it.

Due to the fire, valuable assets of the metro bus worth millions of rupees were destroyed. Lifts, elevators, generators, cooling and backup systems, ticketing booths and other assets of the particular bus station had are completely been damaged, the officials said.

On the other hand, intra-city public transport in Rawalpindi also remained suspended for the second day on Wednesday. Due to the closure of public transport, citizens were forced to travel miles on foot or had to hire cabs and rickshaws on higher rates.

The PTI protests also caused immense inconvenience to the citizens, ambulances, motorists and travellers, who often entered into altercations with the PTI workers.

City traffic police said that traffic had been restored on all main roads of Rawalpindi.

An additional force of city traffic wardens has been deployed on Mall Road, which was closed due to security reasons.

All roads leading to GT Road and the motorway were also opened to traffic. After the removal of roadblocks on Murree Road, Liaquat Bagh, Shamsabad, Double Road, Faizabad, Old Airport Road, Karal Chowk, Sawan Bridge, GT Road and motorway and traffic was restored.

A police spokesperson said that additional police personnel had also been deployed on important highways to maintain law and order situation in the city and Cantonment. Elite commandos have been deployed to ensure the security of all important sensitive installations.

Police said that they have been on alert to ensure the safety of citizens.

Rawalpindi City Traffic Police all main city roads have been opened to vehicular traffic.

It said that all traffic police officers were in the field and supervising all arrangements.

Additional traffic wardens had been deployed at all important points to control traffic, said City Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi Taimoor Khan.

All the officials were performing their duties efficiently and committed to regulating traffic, he added.

Special arrangements had been made for alternative routes in case of traffic diversion, Taimoor Khan said. Information about the latest traffic situation was being provided to the citizens on FM 88.6 and official social media pages, CTO added.

Motorway police also issued an advisory and stated that "Islamabad Peshawar Motorway (M-1) and Islamabad-Lahore Motorway (M-2) have been opened to traffic. Passengers and transporters breathed a sigh of relief when both sections of the motorway were opened and the traffic flowed.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2023.