Daily routines of citizens of the federal capital on Monday remained disrupted due to a sit-in staged by Sunni Tehreek (ST) and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (SAW) leadership against the hanging of former police bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, who killed ex-Punjab Governor Salman Taseer. Troops of Pakistan army were stationed on the streets of Islamabad to control the situation and secure Red Zone as Mumtaz Qadri's supporters continued their protest sit-in in the heart of the federal capital.
Mobile phone services remained suspended in almost entire federal capital causing difficulties for the citizens to communicate with their family and friends. According to a telecom official, the service will remain suspended in Red Zone and adjoining areas until the situation normalises.
Thousands of supporters of the former police bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri had gathered in Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the afternoon on Sunday to observe Qadri's chehlum. Later, these protestors led by Sunni Tehreek (ST) and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (SAW) leadership marched towards the Parliament House and submitted a list of their demands to the government while announcing to continue their unless the government accepted these demands.
The demands included the implementation of Shariah in the country and declaring Mumtaz Qadri a martyr by the State. The protesters disrupted major activities of Islamabad by blocking 11 major intersections including Constitution Avenue along with more than 30 other major roads and points. Clashes erupted after riot police carrying batons and shields fired tear gas to try and prevent the mob from coming closer to the parliament. To control the situation, the army deployed troops on streets and at key government buildings of Islamabad to secure the Red Zone around Parliament, where protesters were gathering.
With the advent of protest at Red Zone around Parliament, attendance at the government, semi-government and private sector departments remained thin on Monday, while the city hospitals also witnessed low registration of outdoor patients. An official in a government department said at least 30 per cent of their employees had remained at home as metro bus service and other public transport at intra-city routes remained suspended.
A regional transport officer while talking to Business Recorder said that reason of low traffic on the city routes, one was that the owners of private bus terminals in the city had kept the vehicles off the road after protestors torched containers and fire bridge vehicle.
Many employees had to go back home while encountering strict checking on different checking posts. People without national identity card were sent back and suspicious people were being caught for not showing their ID cards or for not providing the relevant information regarding whereabouts. Meanwhile, several local hotels in markets also remained closed as the owners and other staffers also left for their hometowns. Similarly, a large number of private offices located in the federal capital reported low attendance.
Besides students belonging to other cities of many universities, colleges and schools, both private and public, also preferred to stay at home. The situation badly affected the performance of especially the government departments. A resident Muhammad Abid told Business Recorder that he has been facing power shortage since Sunday and when on Monday he contacted the complaint office concerned, the person there who attended his call, apprised him that they would fix the problem soon after the protest as the department had been facing shortage of staff. Many employees, who came to private colleges, also left early in the morning. "Most of teachers and employees chose to leave to avoid any unseen incident," Amir Khan, a federal government college teacher said.
Comments
Comments are closed.