On Monday, the fourth day of their protest, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Inaf workers let trapped travelers to go to their destinations by temporarily opening Grand Trunk Road to traffic.
For the past four days, PTI protesters have blocked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s entry and exit points, calling for the government to move Imran Khan, the party’s imprisoned founder and former prime minister, from jail to a hospital so he can receive eye care.
The following roads have been blocked by protesters: Upper Kohistan-Gilgit Karakoram Highway, Dera Ismail Khan-Bhakkar Road, Lakki Marwat-Mianwali Road, Hazara Motorway at Abbottabad-Havelian Interchange, Kohat-Pindi Road near Khushal Garh, and Peshawar Islamabad Motorway at Swabi’s Anbar Interchange.
The PTI leadership’s decision to open the Khairabad Bridge, which connects KP with the Attock area of Punjab, gave some respite to the drivers and passengers by permitting them to cross from 9:30 on Sunday night till 3:00 on Monday.
People who had been stranded in Punjab and KP for the previous three days hurried to go to their destinations in both provinces when the road was unblocked for a few hours. At Khairabad Bridge, the PTI workers once more blocked the bustling GT Road about 3 p.m.
Ikram Khattana, the PTI’s deputy information secretary, told Dawn that they opened GT Road because Monday was a working day and many people in Punjab and KP, particularly employees, were on strike.
Passengers have been negatively impacted by the motorway shutdown in Swabi, especially women, children, and senior citizens. Protesters at Swabi Interchange were led by Shafi Jan, the chief minister’s special assistant, and Meena Khan Afridi, the provincial minister for higher education.
According to a statement from district police head Janab Ali, “the majority of the traffic is going to Jhangira or Mardan via Karnal Sher Khan Chowk, Swabi, due to the motorway being closed at the rest area to all types of traffic, resulting in a slow flow of traffic at Swabi Chowk.”
In order to normalize traffic flow, he encouraged drivers and carriers to use the Gohati Bypass rather than Karnal Sher Khan Chowk.
Shafi Jan told the media that their protest will go on until Imran Khan was freed and his eye was treated by the doctors of his choosing.
Major routes connecting Punjab and Dera Ismail Khan division remained blocked as PTI workers resumed their sit-in for the fourth consecutive day.
While Obhaya Bridge in Proa tehsil remained shut, heavy vehicles were observed parked in a queue for kilometers at New Chorah. There was a partial traffic suspension at Qureshi Morr. Additionally, protesters stopped the New Chorah connection route and Chashma route, making it harder to travel between Punjab and KP.
Sardar Adnan Gandapur, the head of the PTI, declared that the Qureshi Mor sit-in would go on all night.
In neighboring Mianwali, protesters reportedly blocked roads and halted vehicles from moving.
At Darra Tang near Lakki Marwat, protesters blocked the key road that runs through Punjab and Islamabad and connects KP to the CPEC route. After the demonstrators dispersed around 5:00 p.m., the road was reopened to cars.
