Islamabad, Sep 28 (IANS): Daily-wage workers at hotels, motels, inns, marriage halls, private hostels and public transport services have been laid off in Pakistan after authorities’ closure of roads amid fears of the long march and sit-ins, local media reported on Monday.
Helpers, dishwashers, waiters, sweepers and sanitary workers working on daily wages have been laid off after the closure of transport and goods terminals, public transport and hospitality businesses due to road shutdowns, Pakistan-based daily The Express Tribune reported. The central traders association, transport federation and goods transporters have urged the government and opposition to hold talks and end the tense situation.
Transport Federation Patron-in-chief Haji Zahoor Arain said transporters were facing problems due to the closure of terminals. He said that using force and a long march would damage the economy, halt development, and urged the government to bring the parties to the negotiating table. He said the delay in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) march had opened the path to talks and urged the authorities to take advantage of it.
He said, “The twin cities have been turned into a container city. Open the roads and restore businesses.”
Pakistani authorities had closed or restricted major highways and motorways leading to Islamabad at several points as the PTI had planned to hold a long march on September 27. Pakistan government’s decision led to disruption of interprovincial and intercity movement of passenger and goods transport and impacted key links between Islamabad and surrounding regions. In the order, the authorities cited a “law and order situation” as the reason for the road closures and restrictions, The Express Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on September 25 announced that PTI was postponing the planned protest march to Islamabad scheduled for September 27 until October 4. He made the announcement after a meeting of the PTI’s political committee. The PTI has planned to hold the nationwide protest to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan, who remains incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, Pakistan-based another daily Dawn reported.
Afridi said, “All matters were discussed in the political committee meeting, and it was unanimously agreed that the Islamabad long march will start from Peshawar on October 4.”
Imran Khan has remained in prison since August 2023 after convictions that his party has termed politically motivated. Since his ouster from office in 2022 through a no-confidence vote, Imran Khan has faced several cases, including allegations involving state gifts and an unlawful marriage case.
