PTI mobilises workers for long march via 'rallies' in Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf conducted a mass rally on Saturday, mobilizing workers for a long march to Islamabad, blaming the incumbent Shehbaz Sharif government for the increased prices of edibles and electricity tariffs in the country. The rally, led by PTI chief organiser Saifullah Niazi, former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and local members of the parliament put vehicular traffic out of gear on Murree Road, creating problems for motorists in the hot weather, Dawn reported.

"A few vehicles disturbed the traffic coming from Islamabad to Faizabad," said Mohammad Anwar, a motorist at Shamsabad. "The organisers of the rally had not informed the district administration about the rally a day before so that the city traffic police could arrange a diversion plan for the traffic," said a traffic warden regulating traffic in front of Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

He said the police deployed extra force to clear routes for ambulances. He said patients faced problems in reaching the hospital on Murree Road, the statement read further. During the rally, long queues of vehicles could be witnessed on Murree Road, Liaquat Bagh and Committee Chowk, according to local media.

A senior PTI leader while talking to Dawn said, earlier the public meeting was scheduled to be held in Rawalpindi on May 9 but later the plan was changed. PTI leaders said people had not accepted the 'imported' government and would respond positively to the call of Imran Khan for the long march to Islamabad.

Pakistan's inflationary trend is here to stay as the government claims the growth trend is balanced, but the flip side is mismanagement on the part of the authorities when it comes to keeping an eye on demand and supply.