l Metro bus and transport services halted
l Residents along Nur Khan Airbase ‘confined’ to their houses
l Student hostels shut as classes to go online

RAWALPINDI: Streets were closed, barbed wires erected, and containers placed in and around Nur Khan Airbase on Sunday as the new round of United States-Iran peace talks was set to be held in Islamabad.

Metro Bus Service between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and Electric Buses remained suspended, while the district administration directed the suspension of all public and goods transport connecting with other parts of the country.

“All private, public and goods transport in Rawalpindi suspended from 12 noon till further orders,” Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema said.

Saddar, the main commercial hub of the cantonment, was closed on Sunday at 2pm, but at 5:30pm the shopkeepers were asked to open the shops till 8pm.

However, the bazaars and markets remained open in Raja Bazaar and Commercial Market, Satellite Town, on Sunday.

Cantonment Traders Association General Secretary Zafar Qadri said that the local police requested that the shops be closed in the afternoon, and they were closed and then reopened in the evening.

Online classes

Hostels of Fatima Jinnah Women University and Pir Mehar Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) were closed, while mid-term examinations were cancelled, and online classes will be held on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the notification of PMAS-AAUR, the university will remain closed until April 26, while it will conduct online classes during the period. It stated that all the hostels vacated as per directed by the district administration.

According to the Fatima Jinnah Women University notification, the main campus will remain closed from April 20 to April 24. The mid-term examinations for PhD, M.Phil, and MS programmes have been postponed till further orders.

Road closures

After the closure of the streets and link roads, residents of the nearby colonies along Nur Khan Airbase faced problems and were confined to their houses.

The security measures taken by law enforcement agencies turned the area into a jail for local residents, as their movement was restricted to their houses.

Areas that have been blocked include Shah Khalid Colony, Gulzar-i-Quaid, Airport Housing Society, Mangtal Town, Faisal Colony and others.

Traffic diversions and the blocking of roads with shipping containers caused inconvenience to the public, already facing difficulties moving within the city and cantonment areas due to the closure of Old Airport Road from Rahimabad to Koral Chowk.

The service road from Koral Chowk to Airport Chowk, along with link roads and streets, was also closed, forcing residents to remain confined to their homes.

Police and security personnel were placed on high alert across the Rawalpindi district. Commuters using electric green buses were dropped off at Tipu Road instead of Old Airport and Koral Chowk.

Local residents and traders in surrounding areas also suffered due to the closures.

Mohammad Intizar, a resident of Shah Khalid Colony, said that the streets were closed till Saturday night and it was difficult for people to go outside. “We disconnected with other parts of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and it would be difficult for the people in case of a health emergency,” he said.

Ahmed Malik, another resident, said that the administration closed streets and roads without informing people to make arrangements, and they were not given time to store edibles.

“We are without water, and the administration asked the civic body to provide water to the area,” he said.

Many students who appeared in the matric examination were worried about how to go to the examination on Monday, as there was an Islamic Studies paper of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Rawalpindi.

“My daughter had to appear in an annual exam, and I was worried about how to bring her to the examination centre,” said Qamar Afzal.

People complained of a shortage of edibles, and supplies were limited in local markets, with shopkeepers cashing in on the situation. Residents demanded that alternative access be provided to their houses and to city areas or hospitals.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2026