Traffic mess in Karachi as PTI holds rally to welcome KP chief minister
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KARACHI: A large rally led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi passed peacefully through the city on Friday, with no major incident reported, officials said.
However, it caused traffic congestion on several main roads during peak hours and minor scuffles took place among PTI workers at the airport and outside the Karachi Press Club, where the CM had to arrive.
PTI spokesperson Mohammad Ali Baloch said the chief minister’s flight from Islamabad was delayed and he arrived at Jinnah International Airport at around 2pm. He is on a for a four-day visit to Karachi, accompanied by party leaders.
Karachi Traffic DIG Pir Mohammad Shah told Dawn that traffic flow slowed on the National Highway near the airport and on Sharea Faisal due to the rally moving from the airport to Insaf House, the party’s head office near Nursery.
A section of Sharea Faisal was also blocked due to the placement of containers near the FTC flyover to divert the rally towards Lucky Star in Saddar and onward to the KPC.
Police block section of Sharea Faisal near FTC flyover for vehicles
He added that traffic was similarly affected when the rally passed through Shahrah-i-Quaideen towards the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and subsequently along M.A. Jinnah Road to the Karachi Press Club.
The DIG said that since Mr Afridi is the CM, he had directed traffic sector officers to provide full facilitation to the rally along its route. “Traffic movement was slow, but it was not blocked,” he said.
The Karachi Press Club was the venue for the KP chief executive’s meet-the-press programme, where a large number of party workers had gathered and continued chanting slogans.
South DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that no untoward incident was reported but the rally disrupted traffic on several roads adjacent to the KPC.
He added that traffic flow was also affected in parts of the Old City area, where the KP chief minister visited Ghanchi Para on the invitation of the party’s provincial lawmaker Sajid Ali Soomro.
However, DIG Raza said temporary barriers had been erected to protect the Red Zone, but the rally did not pass through it and instead proceeded towards Bagh-i-Jinnah via Shahrah-i-Quaideen.
Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2026
