Protests by MWM enter fourth day as roadblocks compound Karachi’s traffic woes

• Sit-ins over Parachinar killings spread to other Sindh cities
• MWM leader holds govt responsible for any inconvenience to people
• Says there is no Shia-Sunni conflict in Kurram

KARACHI: As multiple sit-ins organised on the call of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) in protest over the killings in Parachinar continued in the metropolis for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, the blockade of several important thoroughfares led to a citywide traffic mess in all seven districts and caused hardship to people.

The MWM had expanded its protests to almost all of Karachi by Thursday, and by 10pm on Friday, its sit-ins were continuing on the main M. A. Jinnah Road near Numaish and Abul Hasan Ispahani Road near Abbas Town, Five Star Chowrangi in North Nazimabad, University Road near Samama Shopping Centre, main Sharea Faisal near Star Gate, Korangi, main National Highway near Malir 15, Shamsuddin Azimi Road in Surjani Town, Shahrah-i-Pakistan near Ancholi, Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road near Nazimabad No 1 and main National Highway near Steel Town.

Similar sit-ins were also staged in different cities of the province, including Hyderabad and Sukkur, where a large number of MWM workers and supporters, including women and children, were present despite cold weather.

In Karachi, the traffic police diverted vehicular traffic to alternative routes, but long queues of cars, trucks, trailers, etc, could be seen on almost every city road till late in the night.

DIG-Traffic Ahmed Nawaz Cheema told Dawn they have not only provided alternative arrangements/routes to the citizens to avoid being stuck up in traffic jams but also deputed traffic cops for both day and night shifts to ensure smooth flow of the traffic.

He said that several international passengers missed their flights as both tracks of Sharea Faisal near Karachi Airport were blocked by the protesters.

However, a central leader of the MWM claimed that their “peaceful protests are not causing any problem to citizens and if there’s any problem then the government is responsible”.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday evening, Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi, while referring to the last month Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s march on Islamabad, said the federal capital was sealed for one week and it was the government of Pakistan that ‘jammed’ the country to prevent a sit-in there.

“Our protest is peaceful as traffic is moving at Numaish Chowrangi and shops are also open,” he said, referring to the MWM’s central sit-in.

He said that for the past 90 days, roads in Parachinar were closed, causing shortage of essential goods and medicines.

He said that the people in Parachinar had been staging a sit-in and the protests in Karachi and other parts of the country were aimed at expressing solidarity with them. “The protests will continue until the culmination of the Parachinar sit-in,” he vowed.

‘No Shia-Sunni conflict’

Declaring that there was no ‘Shia-Sunni conflict’ in Parachinar, Allama Naqvi warned against giving the humanitarian issue “a colour of sectarianism”.

“If there is a land dispute, who is involved in it…we do not consider the situation in Parachinar as a sectarian issue,” he said, adding that Parachinar was surrounded by “terrorists from three sides” and the government was well aware of those involved in the killings of innocent persons there.

“The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and local administration are incompetent,” he alleged, although the MWM is a key ally to the Imran Khan-led PTI.

The MWM leader said that the party leadership already conveyed their concerns about KP administration to Imran Khan.

He said that the federal government could not absolve itself of the responsibility by blaming the KP government.

“The federal government has established its writ in Islamabad but it could not get roads opened in Parachinar,” he said.

He asked when airstrikes can be carried out against terrorism in other parts of the country, why such operations were not being carried out in Parachinar to eliminate terrorists.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also earned the ire of Allama Naqvi for describing the Parachina issue as a “local one”.

“The Sindh CM is creating division among the nation by terming a national issue a local one,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024