Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa remains cut-off from the rest of Pakistan, as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers and activists continue sit-ins blocking all entry and exit points of the province, vowing to remain in place until former Prime Minister Imran Khan is transferred to hospital for medical treatment of his eye.
Apart from workers and activists, former governor Shah Farman, PTI Peshawar President Irfan Saleem, and several others leaders of the party are present at the bridge connecting Attock to KP.
According to local media and the PTI’s official social media platforms, PTI workers have blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway at Swabi Interchange; GT Road at Khairabad Bridge; the Dera Ismail Khan-Bhakkar Road; the Lakki Marwat-Mianwali Road; the Hazara Motorway at Abbottabad-Havelian Interchange; the Kohat-Pindi Road near Khushal Garh; and the Upper Kohistan-Gilgit Karakoram Highway. Additionally, PTI supporters have claimed to halt operations at the Noshpa Oil Field.
The protesters are barring the movement of all traffic, triggering anxiety in passengers, many of whom have been stranded for several days. There have also been unverified reports of patients failing to reach hospitals due to the traffic blockade, resulting in casualties en route.
With the sit-ins entering their third day, the stranded commuters, several of them transporters, have started demanding the government take action and restore the normal flow of traffic. However, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has said he has instructed the provincial police to ensure they do not hinder the sit-ins and allow them to proceed. PTI leaders have also sought to deflect blame for the concerns prompted by the road closures onto the federal government, maintaining they would end their demonstrations if the federal government shifts Imran Khan to a hospital of his family’s choice.
Within KP, concerns are mounting over the prolonged closure leading to a shortage of essential commodities in the province, as it receives most of its food requirements from Punjab.
Lawmakers regroup
Meanwhile, PTI lawmakers have ended their sit-ins outside Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House and the Parliament Lodges, which started on Friday. However, a sit-in underway by members of opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP) continues at Parliament House.
According to a spokesperson for the TTAP, the lawmakers had decided to merge the parallel protests into a single protest at Parliament House. They have also said they would announce their next plan of action after reviewing the medical report the government is required to the Supreme Court today (Monday).
Sources within the government have said a team of doctors conducted an examination of Khan at Adiala Jail on Sunday afternoon and determined his vision was improving with the present treatment. However, this has come under controversy, as neither Khan’s family nor his personal physicians were permitted to be part of the panel conducting the examination.