RAWALPINDI, Oct 18: Traffic remained suspended in the twin cities on Saturday due to the arrival of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on Saturday.

Traffic slowed to snail’s pace on some routes in the afternoon. It took hours to reach a short distance because of the long queue of vehicles on Peshawar More-Saidpur Road and Murree Road all the way to the airport.

Commuters criticized the government for all the inconvenience faced by the common man. Particularly, students were the hardest hit as there were only a limited number of public transport vehicles plying on the road. Many people had to hire taxis and rickshaws to reach their destination while others had to walk.

Transporters said about 300 vehicles had been commandeered. The government has yet to pay about Rs600,000 to transporters for dutiesrendered during the general elections, the president of the local transporters union, Mr Sultan, said.

In a meeting with the secretary, Regional Transport Authority, and officials of the traffic police, we had informed the administration that no vehicle will be provided till the outstanding dues of the election duties are paid to the transporters, he said.

But, the local administration started impounding our vehicles on Friday. He said a meeting of the union leaders would soon be convened to decide about the future strategy.

APP ADDS: Traffic will remain suspended on Sunday from 12:30pm to 1:15pm from Dhokri Chowk to Korian Wala and Kashmir Chowk to Korian Wala for a function in the honour of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz at Convention Centre. A police spokesman said all roads leading to Convention Centre from any side will also remain closed.