Twin cities clear roadblocks
“Authorities have accelerated the removal of hundreds of shipping containers and other barricades placed along key roads, entry and exit points, and around sensitive locations in Rawalpindi and Islamab…”
Containers had been positioned at 26 locations along major routes, including GT Road, the motorway, Margalla Avenue and Airport Road, to deal with potential protests and prevent any deterioration in law and order. The containers are now being removed in phases and returned to the companies concerned.
The move has brought relief to residents, traders and transporters, who had been concerned about possible road closures and disruptions to daily activities., the Rawalpindi and Islamabad administrations had deployed hundreds of containers as a precautionary measure after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami announced protest marches.
The containers were placed along roadsides and at adjoining locations rather than directly across roads, allowing authorities to move them onto the carriageways at short notice if protests or security concerns arose.
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The containers were positioned at several key locations, including Rawat T-Chowk, GT Road, Mall Road, Peshawar Road, Murree Road, motorway entry and exit points, Margalla Avenue, Airport Road and Faizabad Interchange. While some had remained in place for around two weeks, containers near Faizabad Interchange had been there for nearly three weeks.
Following the improvement in the security situation, containers have been removed from Rawat T-Chowk, Mall Road, Peshawar Road and areas around Murree Road. The process has also begun at Faizabad Interchange, a major traffic hub connecting the twin cities.
Thousands of commuters, government and private-sector employees, students, passengers and freight vehicles use the interchange daily. The complete removal of the containers is expected to further improve traffic flow and facilitate movement between Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Heavy machinery and transport vehicles are being used to lift and relocate the containers, which are being returned to their respective companies. Traffic is flowing on major roads across the twin cities, with residents travelling to their destinations as usual.
Residents, transporters and business representatives have welcomed the removal of the barricades. They said the prolonged presence of containers along major roads had created uncertainty and raised fears of sudden closures, particularly among people travelling daily between Rawalpindi and Islamabad for work, business and education.
Transporters said the possibility of abrupt road closures had threatened to disrupt passenger services and freight movement.
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