KARACHI, Oct 18: Life in the city came to a standstill on Thursday when former prime minister and chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party Benazir Bhutto landed here from Dubai, ending more than eight years of self-imposed exile.

The preceding night saw charged PPP workers carrying party flags, chanting slogans and dancing to folk tunes and party anthems across the city as part of their preparations for a grand reception to their leader at Karachi airport on Thursday.

The day began with thin traffic on downtown Karachi’s roads and in other areas. Offices were open but many of the commercial centres and markets remained closed, while public transport also largely stayed off the roads. Around 20 domestic and international flights arriving into and departing from the city were also cancelled.

Some of the markets that were open drew a small number of shoppers, while attendance at government offices was also thin. Operations at the Karachi Port Trust and the Customs House were also affected due to the shortage of staff. A majority of staff at the Sindh Secretariat also decided to take the day off.

“Perhaps the absentees have been unable to report to work due to transport problems or found it better to remain glued to the television screen to track the details of Ms Bhutto’s journey,” said an official.

Railway passengers had to face enormous problems due to the shortage of public transport at stations.

Fearing chaos and inconvenience to the students in the wake of activities associated with the reception, the Sindh government had already announced Thursday as a holiday for all public and private sector educational institutions, including universities. Thus thousands of school vans and buses also remained off the roads.

The shortage of public transport and the fear that there could be a repeat of the events of May 12 made many citizens avoid their non-pressing engagements. Even patients preferred to stay away from the outpatient departments on Thursday in the wake of the political show. Hospitals like the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Civil Hospital Karachi and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital only received about 30 per cent of the patients they receive on normal days.

Industries in Korangi and Site also suffered losses as a sizeable number of workers could not reach their workplaces for want of transport. Staff at banks and other financial institutions was also not at full strength.

Though Sharea Faisal remained the centre of the loud reception activities since the morning, security and law-enforcement personnel, including the Rangers, were seen posted in other areas as well.

Finding the roads and streets deserted, some youths decided to turn them into makeshift cricket pitches, and were only occasionally disturbed by passing rickshaws and taxis.

Talking about the transport situation on Thursday, chief of the Karachi Transport Ittehad, Irshad Bukhari, said that 10 to 15 per cent of the buses, mini-buses and coaches and 15 to 20 per cent of the taxis and rickshaws plied the roads during the day. The remainder were either hired by political workers or not taken onto the roads in apprehension of damage.

Mr Bukhari said the apprehensions stemmed from “the experiences of the past, when public transport vehicles were captured by the police for their own purposes without payment or political activists harassed the transporters and forcibly took away their vehicles for use in processions and meetings.”

He said that till 8pm, he did not receive any information about damage to public transport vehicles.

Air travel disruptions

At least 20 domestic and international flights of different airlines were cancelled on Thursday due to the arrival of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Airlines’ sources said the flight scheduled between 9am to 6pm was largely affected as the passengers could not reach the airport in time due to the non-availability of transport and blocked roads.

Though the Jinnah Terminal of the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport was accessible through alternative routes from Malir Halt, Kala Board and Malir City on the National Highway and from Malir Cantt, the majority of air passengers did not attempt to catch their flights in view of the reception being accorded to the PPP leader.

The national flag carrier cancelled its three outgoing flights and an equal number of incoming flights. The PIA’s cancelled outgoing flights were Multan-Lahore-bound PK 574 at 9.20am, Turbat-Gwadar-bound PK 509 at 2pm and Dera Ghazi Khan-bound PK 584.

Similarly, the PIA cancelled three incoming flights – PK 575 from Lahore-Multan at 1.15pm, PK 510 from Gwadar-Turbat at 6.10pm and PK 585 from Dera Ghazi Khan at 7.05pm.

A spokesman for Airblue told Dawn that the private sector airline had to cancel four of its flights as the passengers failed to report to the boarding counter on time.

He said the airline cancelled Islamabad-bound flight ED 208, which was scheduled to depart from Karachi at 10am, and Lahore-bound ED 404, which was scheduled to leave at 1pm. Similarly, he said two incoming flights (ED 209 and ED 405), which were scheduled to reach Karachi at 3pm and 5.30pm respectively, were also cancelled.

The spokesman said an Islamabad-bound flight (ED 204), which was scheduled to leave Karachi airport at 4pm, was combined with another flight (ED 406), which left for Islamabad at 7pm.

He said that there were over 300 passengers booked for the two flights (ED 204 and ED 406). However, only 35 passengers were on board the combined flight as the remaining passengers either got their reservations cancelled or could not reach the airport due to the welcome procession on Sharea Faisal.

A spokesman for Shaheen Air International told Dawn that the airline cancelled its Islamabad-bound flight NL 123, scheduled at 12.30pm, and Lahore-bound NL 144, scheduled at 7pm. He said the airline also cancelled two incoming flights (NL 124 and NL 145) from Islamabad and Lahore respectively.

The spokesman said over 80 per cent of the passengers got their reservations cancelled.

Aviation sources said Etihad Airways cancelled its Abu Dhabi-bound flight EY 221, which was scheduled to depart from Karachi at 11.55am. The airline also cancelled its incoming flight (EY 222) from Abu Dhabi.

Besides, Oman Air cancelled its Muscat-bound flight, scheduled at 1.55pm, and an incoming flight form Muscat at 2.45pm.

Air Arabia also cancelled its incoming flight (G9 543), which was scheduled to reach here at 1.15pm from Sharjah. Similarly, the airline cancelled its Sharjah-bound flight (G9 544), which was scheduled to depart at 10.30pm.

Meanwhile, a few passengers did manage to reach the airport to catch their scheduled flights, but they left when they were told about the cancellation of their respective flights.