November 07, 2007	Wednesday	Shawwal 25, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: The arrival of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in Islamabad on Tuesday brought joy for the “Jiyalas” but caused immense troubles for the commuters and the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

As part of security measures, the police blocked the roads leading to Islamabad International Airport which caused worst traffic jams on Islamabad Highway, Rawal Road, G.T. Road and the busiest Murree Road.

The security personnel did not allow any vehicle to pass beyond Karral Chowk on Islamabad Highway and Chohan Chowk and even the air passengers were not allowed to travel to the airport in their vehicles.

Many passengers, including women and children, were seen walking on the road from and to the airport carrying their luggage. The passengers, who had arrived from the flight in which Ms Bhutto travelled from Karachi, were not allowed to come out of the airport until the departure of Ms Bhutto’s motorcade.

Hundreds of party workers, who had gathered outside the airport to receive Ms Bhutto, were also not allowed to come close to the airport entry points and they kept on chanting slogans from a far away point. The police resorted to mild baton-charge on the party workers several times to prevent them from approaching Ms Bhutto’s vehicle.

The reporters and photographers were also not allowed to enter the airport premises. A group of the mediapersons, who had entered the airport building much earlier than Ms Bhutto’s arrival, were forcefully pulled out of the premises.

Interestingly, a police official advised the reporters not to go close to the slogan chanting PPP workers saying they had not given security clearance to that part of the area.

Similarly, he asked them to stay away from the police personnel in an apparent reference to the ongoing terrorists attack on security personnel.

However, despite all these measures, the security lapses were evident inside and outside the airport at the time of the arrival of Ms Bhutto. The police personnel, posted at the barricades to stop vehicles, did not check any pedestrian and even did not bother to search the luggage. Some of the people, who appeared to be the passengers, were seen standing very near to the Ms Bhutto’s vehicle with hand bags and even suitcases in their hands.

Moreover, the streetlights were not proper outside the airport exit gate.

Some of the stranded people, when interviewed, criticized the government for adopting a novel way of providing security to the VVIPs by blocking roads. A young man who was standing at a barricade with his motorcycle said it seemed there was no difference between Gen Musharraf and Ms Bhutto as both of them travelled in the same fashion without realising the difficulties of the common man.