10 July 2004	Saturday	21 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

LAHORE, July 9: Traffic was blocked and some people were beaten by traffic police on The Mall on Friday for providing a free passage to a senior police officer, stated to be the Punjab additional IGP.

The traffic police also put off the signals during the around 15-minute standoff, disallowing even a couple of provincial ministers to pass the road. Eyewitnesses said the police blocked traffic on every crossing on The Mall at around 10am, disallowing people to cross it.

At Regal Chowk, policemen pushed down a motorcyclist and a cyclist besides manhandling some others for "disobeying the orders" of stopping at the crossing. Traffic was allowed and signals started only after the officer passed. Witnesses claimed that he was the additional IGP who was going to his office in the Civil Secretariat.

Blocking roads, at times for hours, during the movement of VVIPs like the president and the prime minister has become a routine in Lahore during the past sometime for the stated security reasons.

But of late, the traffic police have also started blocking roads for the smooth passage of cars of the chief minister, the chief secretary and even the IGP and the home secretary, causing a great deal of inconvenience to the general public.