CHAKWAL: The Punjab government has dug up trenches on roads passing through small towns and villages with a view to stopping the local activists of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) from participating in the Azadi March and Inqilab March on Islamabad on August 14.

The last two days brought more miseries for the commuters as inter-city bus terminal was closed and petrol filling stations ran dry of fuel. Besides, the local authorities blocked Motorway from Balkassar Interchange by placing containers in the middle of the road.

On the other hand, the police in a swoop rounded up 20 activists of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) while their local leaders went into the hiding.

The exit and entry points of Motorway remained blocked from Friday night till 6p.m. of Saturday leaving commuters stranded on both sides of the road.

The drivers of the containers impounded by the authorities were looking more distressed. “My container was impounded on the night of August 4 and had not been released as yet,” said Mohammad Ikram. “There are goods worth Rs30 million which were supposed to be delivered on August 5 at Peshawar but now we have to face heavy loss as the delivery has been delayed,” the disgruntled Ikram said.

Published in Dawn, Aug 12th, 2014