April 18, 2002	Thursday	Safar 4, 1423

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MULTAN, April 17: Public transport system in Multan and its adjoining districts has been totally paralyzed ahead of Gen Musharraf’s public meeting here on April 19 as the police have impounded almost every vehicle found plying on the road for the moot.

Though the public meeting was scheduled for Friday, local police started its operation on Monday. The impounded vehicles had been parked at the sports ground near the State Bank building.

As the police set up pickets at all the exit and entry points to the city to catch vehicles, transporters took their remaining vehicles off road and parked them at some safe place.

Ultimate losers in the cat and mouse game are commuters. Hundreds of people were seen stranded at the General Bus Stand and other areas.

Even policemen have no regard for the passengers, including women and children, as they disembarked them whenever they impounded a vehicle.

When contacted, a police official told Dawn on Wednesday that the ‘operation’ had to be carried out well before time because the transporters had become ‘crook’ and hid their vehicles a couple of days before the moots.

“How could we face the authorities if the force fail to gather the required number of vehicles to carry people to the venue of the public meeting,” he maintained.

A number of disgusted commuters condemned the police tactics and said such acts of government machinery brought bad name to the rulers. Some of them said they had decided to cast their vote in favour of Gen Musharraf but now they would give a second thought to their earlier decision.

Meanwhile, the stage for the public meeting has been set up at the Multan cricket stadium on the Vehari Road. Hundreds of banners have been displayed in and outside the stadium.