ISLAMABAD: Once again some roads adjacent to Faizabad will become a no-go area for the residents of the twin cities on Tuesday as PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will address a public meeting at Parade Avenue.

The PPP is holding the event near Faizabad in connection with its founding day.

The Faizabad Interchange recently remained closed for about 20 days due to a protest sit-in by religious groups.

Police officials said the PPP chairman was scheduled to attend the meeting of the party workers, activists and supporters.

Due to the prevailing situation in the country and after an attack on worshippers at an imambargah in I-8, roads would be closed for the security of the participants.

Only PPP workers and supporters attending the gathering will be allowed to use the roads to the venue. The Islamabad Expressway from Zero Point to Faizabad and Garden Avenue would be closed from Tuesday noon till the conclusion of the meeting.

About 500 traffic police officials would be deployed to divert traffic to other roads.

Meanwhile, the PPP chairman along with other party leaders visited the venue on Monday to review arrangements for the public meeting.

Senator Farhatullah Babar told Dawn that the main participants of the gathering were from Islamabad and Rawalpindi but people from Kashmir, KP, Sindh and Balochistan had also expressed their willingness to participate.

“However, our focus will be on the residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Our leaders such as Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Sherry Rehman, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and others have been making efforts to ensure maximum participation from the twin cities and nearby areas.”

He said all presidents of the provincial chapters of the PPP as well as AJK and GB would address the meeting.

“Moreover, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah will also deliver speeches. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan was also scheduled to speak but he is out of the country,” he said.

Mr Babar said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would address the gathering at 5:45pm. However, the time of his speech can be delayed.

Meanwhile, over 3,000 PPP workers from Sibi, Quetta, Karachi, Nawabshah and Larkana arrived in Rawalpindi in eight trains on Monday.

A group of Sindh Assembly members, led by Rashid Rabbani, also arrived from Karachi.

The workers were received by PPP Rawalpindi chapter president Babar Jadoon, Nasir Mir, Waseem Khawaja and others at the railways station.

PPP city spokesman Nasir Mir said all the provincial assembly constituencies and organisations had been asked to bring old party workers and supporters to the public meeting.

Published in Dawn, December 05th, 2017