THE Faisal Movers bus service was suspended by the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) from motorways on June 4. As mentioned in the notification, it was due to accidents being caused by carelessness/negligence of its drivers.

Before the notification became public, my family had already boarded the company’s bus from Rawalpindi to Bahawalpur on the eve of June 4 only to have a nightmarish experience.

Without informing the passengers prior to boarding, the bus was taken along a secluded route in the middle of nowhere. Even Google maps started to fail. The driver did not make a stop for several hours, basically because of security concerns along the deserted route.

The driver was also resentful of the administration which had ordered him to take the said route despite his reluctance. A normal seven-and-a-half-hour journey lasted more than 15 hours. It was truly a ‘kidnapping-like’ experience.

While the said bus service has been suspended till further orders, it should be directed not only to provide refunds, but also pay damages to all those aggrieved by its reckless behaviour.

Izz Ghanaa Ansari
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2021