KARACHI, May 11: Thousands of people were stranded late on Friday night as roads leading to the airport were closed by bands of youth.

People returning home marched on the Sharea Faisal as thousands of vehicles, inclupding buses and mini-buses, stood bumper to bumper from Awami Markaz to Drigh Road Station on the main artery. The vehicular traffic was also suspended from Malir Halt to Star Gate.

Mohammed Salim, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony, called around midnight to say that he was stuck in a traffic jam near PAF Base on the Sharea Faisal for two hours. “I haven’t moved an inch for the past one hour,” he said.

Many air passengers failed to catch their flights as unruly youths also closed the road linking Gulistan-i-Jauhar and airport through Old Area Pehelwan Goth.