KARACHI: Major roads and streets in the metropolis, including Sharea Faisal and M.A. Jinnah Road, experienced severe traffic jams on Saturday, too, as the sit-ins of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), being held against the Parachinar issue, further spread to several parts of the city.

According to the traffic police, 13 locations in the city were currently affected by the protests, with major roads including, M.A. Jinnah Road, Numaish Chowrangi, Abul Hasan Ispahani Road to Super Highway-Abbas Town, Five Star Chowrangi, University Road, Safari Park, Shahrea Faisal, Star Gate and Malir 15 closed to vehicular traffic.

Other affected areas include Shahrah-i-Faisal near Kala Chhapra, Malir 15 Bridge, Surjani Town Road, Shahrah-i-Pakistan in Ancholi, and Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar while other main points where the protest demonstration were staged included Natha Khan, Ancholi Society, Nazimabad-1, Safoora Chowrangi.

Commuters face massive traffic jams on various routes as protesters block major thoroughfares over Parachinar killings

The closure of major thoroughfares severely impacted commuters who faced considerable delays, with journeys that normally took minutes stretching into hours.

The motorists and bikers had to take alternative routes which consumed extra time for travel.

According to the traffic plan, vehicles were diverted to PPP Chowrangi, Gurumandir to Soldier Bazaar due to the closure of Numaish Chowrangi. An alternative route was provided for the traffic from Society Signal to Corridor-III, Britton Rd to Soldier Bazaar and Gurumandir.

Similarly, both tracks of roads were closed for traffic from Abul Hasan Ispahani Road to Super Highway-Abbas Town, while the traffic was diverted from Paradise Bakery to Fariya Chowk.

The complete closure of Five Star Chowrangi left the residents of Nazimabad and North Nazimabad to use service roads as bumper-to-bumper traffic crawled at snail’s pace.

Severe traffic jam was also witnessed when the protesters blocked University Road by staging a sit-in before Metro Shopping Mall near Safari Park towards Samama Shopping Centre. The blockade led to traffic diversion from nearby streets and service roads, adversely affecting the traffic flow in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

The worst affected was Sharea Faisal as the commuters had to travel from Drigh Road to Rashid Minhas Road due to the closure of the main artery from Star Gate to Malir 15.

The National Highway from Malir 14 to Quaidabad was also blocked and the traffic was diverted to Model Colony via Malir Halt.

The MWM has launched sit-in protests in the city against the worsening law and order situation in Parachinar where over 130 people have been killed in clashes.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2024