Residents of twin cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, on Monday were greatly inconvenienced due to the scheduled arrival of Pakistan Awami Tehrik chief Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri at Islamabad airport from Dubai as almost all entry and exit points were blocked with containers and concrete blocks.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded on roads due to a complete blockade of the twin cities. All educational institutions remained shut while examination papers in different colleges and universities were rescheduled. In a statement, Quaid-e-Azam University announced rescheduling of all the examination papers and the varsity remained closed.
The frequent clashes between the police and workers of Dr Qadri on several roads in the twin cities compelled businesses to remain shut including bakery shops and medical stores. Presence in the government and private offices in Islamabad remained negligible throughout the day. Azam Khan Tanoli, a shopkeeper in Aabpara market, told Business Recorder that the businessmen having shops in the market were fed up with daily protest demonstrations and subsequent closure of the shops.
"Our businesses and families have been suffering due to protests and bomb blasts but nobody cares," he lamented, saying the closure of the business due to strikes and law and order had badly impacted on his monthly income. Tanoli urged the government to take necessary measures to ensure smooth running of their businesses. "In other countries, businessmen and commuters are facilitated by the governments but here we are obstructed by none other than our own policy makers," he said. Hundreds of PAT workers started pouring into Rawalpindi on Sunday to welcome the religious cleric Dr Qadri who was scheduled to land at Islamabad airport at around 7 am. His arrival prompted the local administration to impose Section 144 to prevent public gathering in the twin cities which was never implemented as it was never implementable, a businessman told Business Recorder.
Dozens of Islamabad and Punjab police personnel were also injured and hospitalised in different hospitals of the twin cities during their clashes with the PAT workers. Muhammad Imran, a resident of Iqbal Town, said the government should have allowed Dr Qadri to land in Islamabad instead of diverting his flight to Lahore. "The government could have avoided the whole mess if it had allowed the PAT workers to welcome their leader," he said.
Another bystander stated that the flawed policies of the rulers have been pushing people against the wall and putting credibility of the state institutions at risk. "The government should shun the policy of using the police for political point scoring," he said, adding the PAT workers thrashed the police personnel because they believe the police are aligned with the government.
An official of the local administration said that all the blockades and containers were being removed to facilitate the people. "The blockades were installed to protect lives and property of the citizens," he said, adding the government fully believes in providing security to people in extraordinary circumstances.
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