Islamabad-(Mudassar Iqbal)_Islamabad commuters faced significant disruptions Monday morning due to road closures, ongoing construction, and a potential lawyers’ protest. The suspension of several Metro bus routes worsened the gridlock.
The suspension of the Metro bus service on several routes exacerbated the difficulties for commuters.
Officials reported that buses operating between Rawalpindi and Islamabad were limited to the Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station.
The route from Kashmir Highway to the Pak Secretariat was also closed on the orders of the district administration.
Heavy police presence near Faizabad contributed to congestion on the Islamabad Expressway and Srinagar Highway, while all entry and exit points to the Red Zone were sealed for security reasons.
A police advisory indicated that routes at Serena, Nadra, Marriott, Express Chowk, and Tea Cross Bari Imam were closed from 6am until further notice, advising citizens to use Margalla Road as an alternative.
Traffic in the F-10 area was further disrupted due to the unexpected closure of a newly constructed underpass at F-8, blocked by large boulders and private security personnel.
This lack of prior notice led to confusion and significant delays, especially during peak school hours.
The absence of traffic police on major roads worsened the situation, leaving commuters frustrated as they faced long delays throughout the city.
Earlier,
Leaders of the Lawyers Action Committee, who have reached Islamabad from Karachi and other parts of the country to register their protest against the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment as well as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) meeting, have held a demonstration outside a private hotel.
Speaking to the protestors, senior lawyer Munir A. Malik, while reminding the government that lawyers had held protests in the past too, has described the passage of the 26th amendment as ‘an assault on the judiciary and the state’.
He lamented that nearly all routes in the federal capital had been sealed in order to prevent lawyers from protesting. “Through this protest, we want to convey to the JCP that we are not at all pleased with its meeting.”
Speaking on the occasion, another senior lawyer Ali Ahmad Kurd said that he would continue to stand by the lawyers on the issue. “Being in power does not make people great. Those who passed the amendment at 2:00 in the night should be ashamed of themselves. We don’t accept the amendment,” he said, adding, “And we want the judicial commission meeting to be postponed.”
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