PESHAWAR: The horrified residents of Peshawar experienced the worst kind of traffic jam on all major roads of the city on Tuesday after terrorists attacked students of a local army-run school.

The city’s main arteries were choked by noon as the news of the school attack got around.

Vehicles remained stuck up on roads leading to the cantonment area.

Soon after the attack, security forces sealed all entry points of the cantonment area, causing long queues of vehicles on all city roads.

The traffic mess, which started at around 12pm, continued until 5pm. Schoolchildren didn’t reach home even by evening.

The main University Road, Bara Road, Kohat Road, Khyber Road, Warsak Road, GT Road, Khyber Bazaar Road, Sher Shah Suri Road and other arteries of the city remained blocked until sunset.

Motorists skipped medians at many places to change their routes but the exercise proved futile as by afternoon, all majors roads were choked.

A convoy of security forces was also stuck in the traffic on Bara Road.

The security personnel manning the checkpoint didn’t allow the convoy and an ambulance to enter the cantonment area.

The traffic police failed to cope up with the traffic snarl-up as the traffic system completely collapsed due to the blockade of roads, which caused a major chaos.

On the GT Road, vehicles were stranded up to the General Bus Stand, while on the Khyber Road, queues reached Amn (peace) Chowk near the US Consulate.

The road blockade also caused traffic congestion in Khyber Bazaar and Shoba Chowk, where people had to wait for hours before they’re able to move ahead.

Another cause of traffic huddle was the security cordon of key places of the city due to the presence of VVIPs, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, army chief General Raheel Sharif and PTI chief Imran Khan.

A large number of people, including women and children, waited for transport for long hours at bus stops.

Most of them later walked on footpaths to cover long distances on foot to reach their respective destinations.

“I waited for a long time while sitting in a wagon but later I realised to disembark and began walking,” a resident of Nauthia said.

Ambulances with blaring sirens were also seen stranded on the roads due to the traffic jams.

The frantic parents, whose children hadn’t reached home after school hours, waited on the roadside praying for the safety of their children.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014