ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: The ‘illegal’ weekly car bazaar has become a permanent nuisance for the residents of sector G-8 as hundreds of people gather here for the sale and purchase of vehicles on every Sunday.

A top Islamabad police official told Dawn on Sunday that the weekly car bazaar was not only an illegal activity but also a security threat.

He said that officials of the Margalla police station were often sent at the spot to stop the activity.

The official complained that the residents of the area did not cooperate with the police to stop the activity in the sector.

Similarly, he disclosed that the car dealers who had their showrooms in the market were also unhappy over the holding of weekly bazaar by individual vehicle owners.

“Hundreds of vehicle owners from NWFP, Azad Kashmir and Punjab turn up for the illegal activity that causes great problems to passers-by”, observed the official.

“We have asked the local police station officials to keep an eye on the activity and not to allow any one to park vehicles for business purpose”, the official said.

He sought cooperation from the area residents and local traders’ association leaders to stop the illegal activity.Banners must be displayed at the G-8 sector warning the people to stay away from the activity.

An Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) helpline official when contacted pointed out: “We often receive complaints from the local residents about the traffic congestion and also about the noise pollution because of unnecessary honking”.

The car sellers, ITP official said, parked their vehicles on the footpaths along side the double road completely blocking the right of way of the pedestrians.

He further said the traffic on the double road around G-8 Markaz to other sectors remained blocked almost throughout the day.

Shehzad Khan, President Islamabad Motors Dealers Association, also termed the weekly bazaar a threat to the security of the people and said: “It is an illegal activity continuing for the last many months but simply there is no notice from the city managers”.