The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) protesters continued its blockade of highways across Pakistan for a third consecutive day on Saturday as part of the ‘Plan B’ of the party.
According to details, Hub River Road, which connects Karachi to Balochistan, has been closed for heavy traffic. Police said traffic was being diverted to Northern Bypass from Hub Toll Plaza.
Similarly, JUI-F and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party workers were also staging a sit-in on Dera Ismail Khan National Highway in Balochistan’s Zhob District, suspending all traffic.
The sit-in has cut off contact between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where passenger buses and cargo trucks have been stuck in large numbers.
JUI-F workers have also been protesting on the GT Road after pitching tents in Malakand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Protests and road blockades are also continuing in other parts of the country.
The protests, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, began with the ‘Azadi March’ on October 27 from Karachi. Thousands of supporters reached Islamabad on October 31, holding a two-week sit-in on the city’s main highway.
On November 13, Fazl ordered his supporters to disperse across the country to block roads, in what he termed as ‘Plan B’ to topple Prime Minister Imran Khan.
On Thursday protesters blocked the Grand Trunk Road between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, causing lengthy delays. Similar disruptions were reported in Jacobabad — a city in Sindh linking the province with Balochistan and Punjab.