- The main road cleared and traffic restored after hours of disruption.
- The protest caused nearly six hours of severe traffic jams.
- Vehicles were stuck in long lines during the sit-in.
A sit-in protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) at Chungi Number 26 in Islamabad was called off after successful negotiations with the capital’s police, officials said on Wednesday.
Islamabad Police SSP Operations said that talks between the PTI leaders and the police on reopening the road ended in agreement after which the main road was cleared and traffic was restored.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and party founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, later left the scene after the protest dispersed.
The protest was held to express solidarity with Khan, who was undergoing a medical examination at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, prison sources said. Pakinomist news on Tuesday.
The medical team’s visit came after PTI-backed KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi failed in his attempt to meet the jailed former prime minister in jail.
Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 after being convicted in a series of cases he says were politically motivated.
Since his ouster through a vote of no confidence in 2022, Khan has faced several cases, including cases related to state gifts and an illegal marriage. Some sentences have been suspended or overturned, while appeals in other cases are still pending. He pleads not guilty.
The blockade caused severe traffic disruption for several hours, with vehicles stuck in long queues across several routes in the capital and traffic coming to a standstill for about six hours.
Addressing the media at 26 Number Chungi, the KP chief minister said he and his cabinet members were stopped from meeting Imran Khan, calling the move “discriminatory”.
“We are here to meet Imran Khan peacefully,” he said, adding that party workers had shown restraint throughout.
Afridi said Imran Khan’s meetings with family members, lawyers and personal doctors was a basic human right.
“Imran Khan has a serious eye disease and should be treated in a hospital of his choice,” he added.
The KP chief minister further said that the former premier had “shown generosity” in allowing treatment of political opponents in the past, adding that the party only demanded basic human rights.
Afridi also said his government was committed to solving provincial problems and restoring stability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that efforts to improve peace in the province were underway and would succeed, while attempts were also being made on the political front and to release the PTI founder and other detained leaders.
