Islamabad: Hundreds of supporters of religious parties have blocked major roads in Pakistan’s capital, disrupting the lives of millions of people of Islamabad and Rawalpindi since Wednesday.

Activists of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Yah Rasool Allah (TYL) party are demanding the removal of the country’s law minister over a recently omitted reference to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in a constitutional bill.

Although the minister apologised and clarified the omission was a clerical mistake, the demonstrators are keen that the government punish those responsible for the recent modification in the Khatam-e-Nabuwat clause, which has since been withdrawn.

The sit-in that started on Wednesday afternoon has entered its third day on Friday, shutting down public transport and choking major arteries of the city.

The rally started off from Lahore, arriving in Islamabad on Wednesday at the famous Faizabad crossing — one of the major roads which connect Islamabad and Rawalpindi — causing a massive traffic jam leaving commuters stranded on the roads for hours. The Faizabad intersection is also a major link between Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab which is why intercity commuters suffered as well.

The rally which began with a few hundred members of the small religious party, grew to about 3,000 on Friday, disturbing public life and prompting Islamabad police to set up huge containers on the main roads to prevent the protesters from entering the city.

People criticise city administration for disrupting lives

Commenting on the situation, Malik Ayub Sumbal, a political analyst, said: “The capital of Pakistan has turned into a castle of containers because of a few demonstrators who challenged the writ of government.”

Most people remained unaware of the actual situation and turned to social media for updates since TV channels were not covering the protest.

The sit-in made life miserable for those who regularly commute between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Many parents did not send their children school because of the uncertain situation.

“I couldn’t go to university for last two days because of the road blockages” said a student, Hamid Bhatti, adding: “This is worst traffic jam I have witnessed in Islamabad.”

Stranded commuters were left in chaos as the government and law-enforcing agencies appeared to be absent as capital remain closed.

Criticising the government, Islamabad based architect Hammad Husain, said: “Islamabad is being held hostage by 3,000 molvis (clerics) which demonstrates the incompetence of PMLN government and police.”

The protest by religious parties continued to paralyse the twin cities for the third consecutive day, even though the government had rejected their demands. Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday that, although the government did not want to use force against the demonstrators, their demands had been rejected, Dawn reported.

Islamabad’s business community is extremely disturbed by current blockade of the twin cities, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Zahid Latif stated. The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Amir Waheed demanded the government to restore the normal life in twin cities.

Protest leader booked over child’s death

The roadblocks have also claimed the life of a toddler in Islamabad. The eight-month-old child passed away after the ambulance taking him to hospital was blocked by protesters.

The father of the child, Mohammad Bilal, alleged that the infant’s life could have been saved if they had reached the hospital in time. He has registered an ‘unintentional murder’ case First Investigation Report (FIR) against Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who is leading the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah protesters.

Taking notice of the forced shut down of the twin cities by religious protesters, National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) has summoned the Inspector General of Islamabad Police, Islamabad Chief Commissioner and secretary of the Interior Ministry on November 22 to seek explanation over city lockdown.

The NCHR officials expressed serious reservations over poor management by city administration which led to the forced shutdown of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, dispersing chaos and panic among its residents.