Protest jams capital roads

Hundreds of furious protesters blocked the main arteries of the city, linking Islamabad with Rawalpindi and Murree, against the non-availability of public transport and suspension of CNG to stations. The protest call was given by transporters and owners of CNG stations against the suspension of gas supply to CNG stations.
Traffic remained suspended at the Islamabad Expressway and Murree Road through out the day as several hundreds batting wielding protesters blocked the Expressway from various points. The protesters were mainly the commuters with a large number of students who were waiting for the transport since early in the morning and could not find vans to travel till 9 am.
Agitated over the situation, they blocked a section of the Expressway near Khana Pul, Kashmir Highway near Bhara Kahu and GT Road near Rawat. Around 3000 people protested at Bhara Kahu while around 1000 people protested at Faizabad.
Later on, protesters blocked Faizabad Flyover that connects twin cities for all kind of traffic. Speaking at Faizabad Chairman All Pakistan CNG Association Ghiyas Paracha and President Islamabad/Rawalpindi Transport Association Malik Sultan Awan demanded the government to immediately restore gas supply to the CNG stations.
Malik Sultan said their business was badly affected due to the suspended supply of CNG. He said transporters didn’t’ want to close their roots but they were forced to do that. The charged protesters hurled stones at vehicles, damaging several of them. They were chanting slogans against the government.
Thick black smoke spewed into the air from burning tyres at Faizabad and protesters used stones and tree branches to shut down the road. Through out the day, Islamabad police remained busy to remove tyres and other barricades placed by protesters from the road.
At Faizabad near the IGP Loop, Inspector Mehr Munawar, while removing barriers, was hit by a speeding van, which also struck a protester, who was later identified as a student of local college. Both injured were taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Science for treatment. Upon seeing the injured, the protesters got provoked and set the vehicle (GV 104) on fire.
Hundreds of policemen led by SP Industrial Area Ishaq Warraich and Assistant Commissioner Imran Ali Sultan managed to stop protesters at Faizabad.
It is relevant to note here that some of protesters were holding Holy Quran in their hands. The situation remained tense between police and protesters at Faizabad till late evening and the protesting group continued attacking police from different sides. Police also resorted beaten charge and used tear gas on protesters to disperse them, as a result some protesters received injuries.
Due to strike, thousands of people, mostly students and government servants, had to travel on foot.
“Owing to non-availability of public transport, I covered some four kilometers distance at foot to reach my office and I am still 1 kilometer away from the destination,” said Ismail Khan, who had to travel on foot from Dhoke Kala Khan to reach his office situated at Pakistan Secretariat. Another citizen Ali Shah said he came at Faizabad from Dhokri Chowk after covering some four kilometer distance on foot. “I don’t know why government is not paying any heeds towards our problems,” he added.
Due to strike, thin attendance was observed in public and private sector organisations in Islamabad as a large number of people could not reach in offices due to strike. Meanwhile, the taxi drivers had a field day and they exploited the conditions and charged three times increased fare. They were of the view that due to closure of CNG Station they have forced to run their cabs on Petrol.