Highways blocked as JUI-F's ‘Plan B’ takes effect

KARACHI/QUETTA: Thousands of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) protesters on Friday continued to block major highways across the country as part of the party's 'Plan B'.

According to details, traffic flow remained affected in several parts of the country.

In Karachi, protest at Hub River Road created issues for commuters leading them to use alternative routes. According to JUI-F’s provincial spokesperson Sami Swati, the party has decided to continue the protest with the party’s workers and leaders to offer the Friday prayer at the venue of the sit-in.

“After the Friday prayer, the next plan of action will be announced,” he told The News.

JUI-F's Balochistan chapter on Friday announced they would block the main highway and roads in the province from November 15 to 18.

Read also: Will go even further than blocking highways, warns Fazl

While opposition parties have announced to support JUI-F's ‘Plan B’ in Balochistan, Chief Minister Jam Kamal said his government would not allow the demonstrators to block highways.

Protests have also been going on in Ghotki since yesterday with the national highway blocked, leading to traffic jams in the city.

Similarly, protests in Malakand and Islamabad have also been going on since Thursday.

The protests, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman began with the ‘Azadi March’ on October 27 from Karachi. Thousands of supporters reached Islamabad on October 31, holding a two-week sit-in on the city’s main highway.

Read also: Fazl's 'Azadi March' cost a whopping Rs527.6m to law enforcement agencies

On Wednesday, Fazl ordered his supporters to disperse across the country to block roads, in what he termed as ‘Plan B’ to topple Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On Thursday protesters blocked the Grand Trunk Road between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, causing lengthy delays. Similar disruptions were reported in Jacobabad, a city in Sindh linking the province with Balochistan and Punjab.