Skip to main content

Traffic hurdles persist in Karachi as sit-ins against Parachinar killings continue

As sit-ins across the country continued on Saturday against killings in Parachinar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, traffic hurdles remained for residents of Karachi, where protests entered their fifth day.

The religiopolitical Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) had given a country-wide call of protests to express solidarity with the people of Parachinar, who have also been staging a sit-in since December 20 against the law and order situation as well as road closures.

The demonstrations began after an incident where two people were killed and later decapitated after being waylaid on their way towards Parachinar in Kurram’s Bagan area.

Multiple sit-ins organised on MWM’s call continued in Karachi for the fifth consecutive day today, with the blockade of several important thoroughfares leading to a citywide traffic mess in all seven districts and causing hardship to people.

The MWM had expanded its protests to almost all of Karachi by Thursday, and by 10pm on Friday, demonstrations were being held at 12 locations across the metropolis. One more point was added to the list today, according to a statement by the Karachi Traffic Police.

The sit-ins continued on the main M. A. Jinnah Road near Numaish, Abul Hasan Ispahani Road near Abbas Town, Five Star Chowrangi in North Nazimabad, University Road near Samama Shopping Centre, main Sharea Faisal near Star Gate, Korangi, main National Highway near Malir 15, Shamsuddin Azimi Road in Surjani Town, Shahrah-i-Pakistan near Ancholi, Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road near Nazimabad No 1, main National Highway near Steel Town, and the Power House roundabout in North Karachi, according to officials, witnesses, and organisers.

According to an update issued by the Karachi Traffic Police on their X, the road going towards the city from the Kala Chapra road was opened for traffic, however, the road on the other side was shut.

Stemming from decades-old land disputes, deadly tribal clashes started last month in the wake of an attack on a convoy that resulted in the deaths of 52 passengers, and have claimed at least 130 lives since last month.

Residents in Kurram have reported food and medicine shortages, claiming deaths of scores of children due to it. A total of 613 individuals have so far been airlifted from the district after the KP government launched a helicopter service.

Yesterday, the traffic police had diverted vehicular traffic to alternative routes, but long queues of cars, trucks, trailers, etc, could be seen on almost every city road till late in the night.

Separately, the MWM Lahore wing — including Vice Chairman Allama Ahmad Iqbal Rizvi, Punjab President Allama Akbar Ali Kazmi, and Lahore President Najam Khan — has been holding a protest outside the Lahore Press Club since last week.

In Rawalpindi, the Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Fiqh-i-Jafariya (TNFJ) Regional Council on Friday organised a protest rally from Liaquat Bagh Chowk to Committee Chowk on Murree Road.

On the call of TNFJ head Allama Agha Syed Hussain Maqdisi, the ‘Day of Martyrs and the Oppressed’ was observed in Rawalpindi to condemn the deteriorating and extremely dire situation. Protest gatherings were held in central mosques across the country after Friday prayers.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/ZhGI2HN
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Explainer: Iran’s economy faces rocky road amid rising prices, falling currency

Iran’s economy is going through one of its most difficult periods in years, fueled by sanctions, high inflation, and a significant drop in the value of the national currency, the rial. These pressures have had a direct impact on living standards and have also fueled recent protests. The protests began on Dec. 28 in commercial hubs in the capital Tehran, when shopkeepers, merchants, and small business owners staged strikes and demonstrations to protest soaring inflation, the collapsing rial, and deteriorating economic conditions, and have since grown into nationwide anti-government expressions of discontent involving workers, students, and others across multiple cities. The Iranian president said Sunday that his government is determined to address Iran’s economic problems amid the protests. Masoud Pezeshkian said the government admits to “shortcomings and problems” and is working hard to alleviate the people’s concerns, especially on the economy. Currency collapse at the centre of c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mitchell Starc surpasses Wasim Akram as most prolific left-arm pacer in Test history

Australian veteran Mitchell Starc became the most prolific left-arm paceman in Test history on Thursday, surpassing Pakistan great Wasim Akram. The 35-year-old bagged England’s Harry Brook at the Gabba in Brisbane on day one of the day-night second Ashes Test for his 415th wicket since his debut at the same ground 14 years ago. It moved him past Wasim, widely recognised as the greatest left-arm bowler the sport has seen. Wasim played 104 Tests for his 414 wickets with Starc reaching the milestone in his 102nd, helped by a career-best 7-58 in the first innings of the opening Ashes Test at Perth. Starc is now 16th on the all-time wicket-taker list and could move above both India’s Harbhajan Singh (417) and South Africa’s Shaun Pollock (421) in the current pink-ball Test. After that he will have New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee (431) in his sights. from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/xclHiX2
Post a Comment
Read more

Global reaction to potential Israel-Hezbollah ‘spiral of violence’

World leaders on Tuesday sounded the alarm over fears of a wider conflict after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in two decades in Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds. After nearly a year of cross-border fire since the Gaza offensive erupted, Israeli bombardment on Monday killed 558 people in Lebanon, including 50 children, according to the country’s health ministry. The toll — the highest since Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah went to war in mid-2006 — raised fears of an all-out conflict engulfing the Middle East. ‘Tens of thousands’ flee: UN UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “gravely alarmed by the escalating situation… and the large number of civilian casualties, including children and women,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes yesterday and overnight, and the numbers continue to grow,” United Nations refugee agency spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said in Geneva. ‘Spiral of violence’: US Israel’s clo...
Post a Comment
Read more