PTI workers keep Motorway closed for second day

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers continued their protest and kept the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway closed for second consecutive day on Monday, causing serious hardships to thousands of people.

Two former provincial ministers Taimur Jhagra and Kamran Khan Bangash had given the call for the protest and closing the motorway for traffic against the alleged rigging in their election for the provincial assembly.

The PTI had swept Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the February 8, 2024 elections but some of the party leaders including Taimur Jhagra, Kamran Bangash, former deputy speaker Mehmood Jan Khan, etc, had lost their seats. They alleged that votes polled to them were given to their opponent candidates.

They also challenged it in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and even the Election Commission of Pakistan has directed the relevant authorities not to announce results of some of the constituencies, including Taimur Jhagra and Kamran Bangash constituencies, but they continued their protest.

The caretaker provincial government and police were helpless to take note of sufferings of the people caused by closure of the motorway.

“Where is the government and police to take note of our sufferings. I was coming from Swat after spending a weekend with my family and didn’t know that the motorway was closed and thus waited for three hours to enter Peshawar,” Naeemullah Khan, a government employee told The News. Another passenger, Gohar Ali said he had come to Peshawar and left for Mardan in the evening but was shocked when he was returned from motorway.

“I don’t know why PTI is punishing the people of KP who voted them into power. This is strange as people who brought them into power are now suffering from their protest,” said Gohar Ali.

Thousands of people suffered from traffic jams caused by the PTI protest. It affected traffic flow in Peshawar GT Road and Ring Road and people were seen sitting in their cars for hours as there were no indications the motorway to be opened.

Previously when the PTI workers or other protesters had to close the motorway, the police would take action against them. This time the protesters had closed the motorway for two days but no action was taken against them.