Police stand guard on the main routes leading to the Governor House. PHOTO MUHAMMAD IQBAL/EXPRESS
Law enforcement agencies on Saturday blocked the Sher Shah Suri Road to thwart protests planned by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and various Shia representatives over the blast in Hangu which claimed the lives of over 30 people on Friday.
A suicide bomber blew himself up near two neighbouring mosques in the town of Hangu as worshippers poured out after Friday prayers in the crowded Pat Bazaar area. The attack enraged members of various organisations who planned to stage a protest outside the Peshawar Press Club.
As a result, Sher Shah Suri Road which houses various sensitive installations, including the Governor House, Peshawar Museum, provincial head office Pakistan Telecommunication Limited, Peshawar High Court and K-P Assembly, was blocked for all traffic.
Barbed wire along with heavy contingents of police were deployed on the road to prevent any untoward incidents, while Rescue 1122 personnel and firefighters also stood on standby.
The road was blocked from 8am till 4pm. Many commuters complained about the traffic flow and said they faced acute difficulties in reaching their destinations.
Since various major roads in the provincial capital have already been blocked for public transport due to security concerns, the closure of Sher Shah Suri Road resulted in diversion of traffic from Jail Road, Khyber Bazaar to Hospital Road, where commuters were stuck in traffic for hours.
The road has been closed for the third time since January 16, when tribesmen from Khyber Agency staged a protest outside Governor House over the killing of 18 people in Bara.
“It seems it has become a trend of the law enforcement agencies. Whenever there is the slightest fuss regarding any protest demonstration, you will find Sher Shah Suri Road closed for even pedestrians, let alone vehicles,” said a commuter, Rauf Khattak.
“This was the worst day. I had to visit a patient admitted to a private hospital in Dabgari Garden, but at the end I turned out to be a patient suffering at the hands of hours-long closure of the road,” said Wazir Khan, who said he had spent most of the day inside his Volkswagen.
Meanwhile, protesters found it hard to reach the Peshawar Press Club, with hardly a dozen managing to arrive at the place of demonstration.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2013.
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