ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: Traffic on almost all busy roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad remained suspended for over an hour on Sunday night due to the movement of President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

A large number of people interviewed during the traffic blockade criticized the officials of the city administration and the police for creating hardships for them in the name of security. Long queues of vehicles were seen between 9:20pm and 10:45pm at different points of Islamabad Highway, Karal Chowk, Faizabad Chowk, Rawal Road, Committee Chowk, Liaquat Bagh and Mareer Chowk.

Akhtar Siddiqui, a businessman, who was travelling with his wife in a car, said he reached Liaquat Bagh from Faisal Colony in one hour and 35 minutes due to traffic jam. He said earlier the police used to stop vehicles only five to 10 minutes before the VVIP movement, but now they had started a new practice of stopping traffic about half an hour before any such movement.

Besides, he said, the traffic was opened 10 to 15 minutes after the VVIP convoy's passage. Mr Ishtiaq, a newspaper employee, said the police had adopted a unique strategy of blocking all roads just to provide so-called security to VIP personalities. He said though it was a routine practice, the police had adopted stringent measures after the suicide attacks on Gen Musharraf in December.

Mr Khalid, a retired government employee, even termed this practice a criminal act on the part of the police. "There is a possibility that a patient, who needs urgent medication, may not be able to reach a hospital in time," he said. "Who will be responsible for any such situation," he added.

Mr Azmat, a lawyer, said he had to take his ailing father to the hospital, but could not do so as the police officials prevented him from leaving his flat situated at Committee Chowk. He claimed that one of the policemen even threatened to shoot him when he tried to move.

Mr Abbas, a computer operator in an NGO, said these steps in the name of 'security' showed incompetence of the police and security agencies. He said no doubt security for high government officials was needed and it was a common practice in other countries as well. However, he said, there was no justification of creating hardships for the people only to provide security to a person, who claimed to be a 'popular' leader of the country. The people appealed to the authorities concerned to take notice of the situation and save them from this ordeal.