RAWALPINDI: As many as 60 protesters were booked by police on charges of blocking the Motorway (M-I) toll plaza causing long queues of vehicles to remain stranded on both sides of the road on Thursday.

Jawad Anwar, detective foot constable (DFC), lodged a first information report (FIR) with the Naseerabad police saying that he along with a head constable was on the way to Chowki Hameeda on Thursday (Nov 10, 2022). When he reached M-I toll plaza, he found the road blocked by 60 people who were protesting. He said the motorway had been blocked completely on both tracks by the protesters.

“I along with my fellows made attempts to clear the motorway but could not do so for the time being as the number of protesters was high,” the police official said.

Though, the FIR is silent about the identity of the protesters as well as the nature of the protest, the activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had blocked the entry points of M-1 (Islamabad-Peshawar) and M-2 (Islamabad-Lahore) motorways on Nov 10, demanding registration of an FIR over the murderous attack on party chairman Imran Khan at Wazirabad.

According to police, none of the suspects have been arrested by the police so far. People travelling from Lahore to Rawalpindi via GT Road have been facing hardships due to blockade of the road due to the PTI long march.

Many travellers had to either postpone or cancel their travelling plans.

Meanwhile, another similar FIR was registered with the Taxila police against 90 unidentified persons on the charges of illegally blocking the road restraining people on Nov 8.

According to the FIR, some 80 to 90 people accompanied by dumpers and loaders blocked the GT Road near Sangjani. The protesters had placed chairs in the middle of the road.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2022