GUJRAT: Authorities across the Gujranwala and Gujrat regions stopped all public and goods transport vehicles from proceeding towards the federal capital via GT Road on Monday.

Private cars and jeeps, however, were exempted from the ban. Hundreds of goods transport vehicles, including heavy vehicles carrying containers, were parked on the roadside throughout the region along the national highway.

Official sources said the blockade had been made in the wake of VVIP movement in Islamabad.

Public transport vehicles, such as buses, coasters and vans had been stopped from travelling towards the federal capital from Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Sialkot, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Jhelum districts of the central Punjab region right from Sunday night.

Most of the public transport had been parked at general bus stands and other such stations. Some Lahore to Islamabad and Rawalpindi-bound buses and vans offloaded their passengers in Gujranwala city on Sunday night. They hired cars and rickshaws to move further on joint or sharing fares basis to reach the closest destinations.

The national highways and motorways police, Punjab traffic police and officials of local administration were seen barricading the entire GT Road on different locations with a gap of 10 to 20km.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2026