KARACHI, March 7: People in the city were made to suffer owing to the closure of many roads and thoroughfares to ensure an uninterrupted movement to the motorcade of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday.
The passengers at the Karachi City station also faced severe hardships as the main entrance to the station was closed. A big tent was pitched at the parking lot of the City station, denying the visitors the parking facility.
The railway police were deployed at the city station to check people visiting the station. Passengers were made to leave their taxis or other vehicles on the main I.I. Chundrigar Road or told to park them anywhere away from the station and carry their luggage on foot.
Many families were seen dragging their pieces of luggage from I.I. Chundrigar Road to their relevant train. Coolies offered their services only when they entered the platform area.
An agitated passenger said: "What is our fault if the prime minister is going to visit the City station? Why are we made to suffer?" He further stated that if the premier was so concerned for his safety, he should not visit public places and put hundreds of people in trouble.
Besides, the traffic police closed different roads and dual-carriage ways for "security reasons" well before the visit of the prime minister. The police closed Ibrahim Rahmatollah Road (Karsaz), Tipu Sultan Road and Sharea Faisal for an unduly long duration during the visits of the premier to a function. It led to a traffic mess on the adjoining roads.
Ms Amra Jawed told Dawn that she had to drop her daughter at the airport but due to road closures, she faced severe difficulty in reaching there. She said the police did not even let people living on Tipu Sultan Road open their gates. "Is this a democratic way imposed by the prime minister?"
People were stunned to see the unannounced closure of roads and to find themselves trapped in a deluge of vehicles wherever they tried to go. The impact of traffic jams was felt at various places including Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, PIB Colony, Saddar, and almost all link roads to Sharea Faisal.
Another woman, Tasneem Bandukwala, said she was trapped near the Mideast Hospital in Clifton in the evening for 45 minutes and again on Sharea Faisal for an equal duration.
No police official guided motorists that the road was closed and they should use an alternative route. She said the visit of the prime minister should not be at the cost of the people.
"The premier should not put the people to suffer. He should trust in Allah. In other countries, premiers come and go quietly and people even don't know about their arrivals and departures."
The prime minister's visit to the Karachi Port Trust baffled road-users in the downtown as the traffic police carried out unannounced closure of the port traffic. The closure resulted in a traffic mess in the commercial hub of the main city area of I.I. Chundrigar Road, M.A. Jinnah Road, roads in Keamari and Maulvi Tameezuddin Road. Its impact was felt in Clifton, on Club Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, and other link roads.
A motorist said that whenever the president or the prime minister visited the city, the police made people as hostage. He asked the two leaders to avoid visiting the city and instead call to Islamabad people whom they wanted to see.
Later in the night, the prime minister visited the Muttahida Qaumi Movement headquarters "90" in Azizabad via Gulashan-i-Iqbal route. People faced immense hardships due to closure of roads as prime minister's motorcade passed through the area.