RAWALPINDI: A handful of people staged protests on Islamabad Expressway and Choor Chowk on Friday after the Supreme Court declared Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities.

The demonstration caused traffic jams along the Islamabad Expressway as commuters faced inconvenience.

Some motorists remained in their cars while others sought alternate routes.

Over a hundred protesters gathered on the Expressway, expressing their resentment over the decision by shouting slogans. The protesters also set an old tyre on fire as clouds of thick smoke could be seen from a distance.

A spokesman for Islamabad police when contacted, stated that “Some citizens gathered on Islamabad Expressway for only 10 to 15 minutes and later dispersed peacefully.”

He clarified that the traffic at the Expressway had not been halted due to the protest. “It was due to some movement which caused a disturbance of traffic,” he said.

A social media video showed a large number of people blocking the Expressway with visible black smoke.

They later dispersed peacefully.

In Rawalpindi, some protesters shouting slogans gathered at Choor Chowk on Friday.

However, the traffic continued moving at a slow pace and the crowd eventually dispersed.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2024