Traffic disrupted as protests continue at 20 sites in Karachi
Traffic disruptions reported in multiple areas of Karachi once again on Thursday as protests and sit-ins against the killing of 11 Shia Hazara miners in Balochistan earlier this week continued for the third day in the metropolis.
Protests ongoing since 9 am at 20 locations in the city, according to a statement by the Karachi Traffic Police.
Areas included
These areas include:
- Abbas Town (Abul Hasan Ispahani Road)Kamran Chowrangi at Gulistan-i-Jauhar
- Powerhouse Chowrangi in North Karachi
- Numaish (MA Jinnah Road)
- Sharea Faisal
- NIPA Chowrangi
- Malir 15
- M-9 motorway near the Super Highway
According to a traffic official, Rangers and police have also deployed to assist the traffic police and ensure law and order in these areas.
Commuters advised to use alternative routes while those traveling out of Karachi asked to use the Lyari Expressway or Northern Bypass.
Pakistan International Airlines
Meanwhile, operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also affected due to the protests, according to a statement from PIA.
PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan said traffic congestion on the routes towards the Jinnah International Airport caused difficulty for passengers and staff trying to reach the airport.
Multiple PIA flights from Karachi to Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Faisalabad either canceled or delayed by a few hours, according to the PIA, while an international flight, PK-213 from Karachi to Dubai, was also delayed by an hour and a half.
The airline advised passengers to stay in contact with its call center for flight updates and to set out for flights well before time.
Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen
A spokesperson for the Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen, which is also taking part in the protests; yesterday that the protestors, including women and children, there only to express solidarity with the families of the Mach victims.
“They are peaceful and only seeking their constitutional right,” he said. “The protests have joined by people from all walks of life and beyond their sectarian or political association. They all united in these testing times for the Hazara community. We demand the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan play their due role before it’s too late.”
This was the third day of protests in Karachi; against the Balochistan killings with families and supporters of the slain miners also continuing; their sit-in for a fifth straight day in Quetta, demanding justice and refusing to bury the dead unless; the premier visits them.
On Sunday, armed attackers slit the throats of 11 miners in a residential compound near a mine site in Balochistan’s Mach coalfield are; filmed the entire incident, and later posted it online. The gruesome attack claimed by the militant Islamic State group.
