Several roads in Karachi were reopened to traffic on Tuesday as city-wide sit-ins against the recent killings in Parachinar, located in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, subsided after warnings from the police.
The religious political party Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) had called for protests throughout the country to express its solidarity with the people of Parachinar, who have also been carrying out a sit-in since December 20 against the law and order situation and against road closures.
Protesters are protesting the ongoing violence in Kurram as well as an incident in which two people were killed and then beheaded after being assaulted on their way to Parachinar in the Bagan area of the district.
As the sit-ins continued for the eighth consecutive day in Karachi, roads at six different locations, out of the 13 where they took place yesterday, had been reopened to vehicles after the protests ended, according to a traffic update shared by Karachi. Traffic Police.
The six places that are now cleared for traffic include Jauhar Mor towards Jauhar Chowrangi; Five Star Chowrangi in North Nazimabad; Shamsuddin Azeemi Road towards KDA Flats in Surjani town; Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road in Nazimabad-1 towards Nazimabad-2; and Ancholi and Ayesha Manzil in Shahrah-i-Pakistan.
However, traffic police said protests continued in four different parts of the city.
In the Eastern District, MA Jinnah road near Numaish Chowrangi remained closed where alternative diversions have been provided from Capri Cinema to Soldier Bazaar and Saddar Dawa Khana.
Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar was also closed, with Mosmiyat vehicles directed towards University Road and the inner streets of Munawar Chowrangi.
In Abbas Town in Malir district, both lanes of the Abul Hasan Ispahani Road towards the highway remained closed, where diversions have been planned for traffic from Paradise Bakery to Fariya Chowk and inner roads and from Rangers’ Cut to a service lane towards Punjab Adda (bus stop).
University Road towards Samama Mall and Nipa Roundabout was closed at Metro Safari Store, where diversions were provided from streets within residential areas.
Earlier, the city’s police chief had stated that blocked streets in the metropolis would be cleared of protests yesterday afternoon, later clarifying that he meant that they would be organized in a way that would not disrupt the flow of traffic.
Later, MWM leader Allama Hassan Zafar Naqvi asked protesters to keep a path open on the roads where sit-ins were being held to facilitate traffic flow. However, he made it clear that these sit-ins would continue until the blocked roads in Kurram were reopened.
An MWM spokesperson had stated that the sit-in on the main Sharea Faisal Road near Natha Khan Bridge had ended to facilitate the movement of people.
Meanwhile, the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (AWSJ) on Monday announced counter-protests at 60 locations in the city starting today.
Protests ended with 8 points out of 12: CM Murad
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said protests at a total of eight places had ended so far, noting that they would remain at 12 points till Monday night.
Addressing a press conference in Thatta, CM Murad said, “The sit-ins continue at four points. “We are talking to them and also taking some administrative measures where necessary, which may also upset people.”
He recalled that negotiations with the MWM continued last night and highlighted that they were even offered to hold a single protest without interrupting the flow of traffic.
The prime minister stressed that “distressing other people” was not the solution to the crisis that had been going on in Kurram for more than a month.
