Minister’s reply: ‘66 blocked roads, streets now open’

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman on Tuesday told the Senate that 66 barricades out of 127 placed by the Islamabad Police on different roads and streets had been removed in the last month. Replying to a question by MQM Senator Tahir Mashhadi, Rehman said the police had blocked some streets with concrete blocks due to security reasons, explaining that the purpose was to secure important buildings and residences of diplomats. He said the police review the situation every now and then and remove the blockades if the situation improves or if public complains about inconvenience are received. The minister also told the house that no part of a public road was allocated to any hotel in the city, adding that if a road adjacent to a hotel was closed it was a temporary security arrangement.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2015.