The protest by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) activists at Faizabad, the junction of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, entered its third day on Monday. The protesters have completely blocked the Faizabad interchange, causing a complete standstill of traffic between Murree and Rawalpindi, and Peshawar and Lahore.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar was asked about the Faizabad sit-in at his press conference.
Talks with Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan leader Saad Rizvi were under way, he said in response to the query. He added that the party was being briefed about the steps taken by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to highlight the plight of Palestinians at the international level.
While Islamabad Traffic Police has provided alternative routes, the narrow roads have created significant congestion, with journeys that normally take five minutes now taking over an hour.
Citizens are facing significant difficulties commuting to government offices in Islamabad, and the roadblocks have led to low employee attendance at these offices.
A district administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that no written instructions have been received from authorities regarding negotiations with the TLP protesters.
TLP stages Faizabad sit-in against Israeli aggression in Gaza
Traffic police officers have only been instructed to maintain traffic flow, and no orders have been received to clear the Islamabad Expressway, the city’s main artery, from the protesters.
The TLP activists are demanding three things from the Pakistani government: immediate delivery of food and medicine to oppressed Palestinians, a government declaration of a boycott on Israeli products, and the designation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a terrorist.
Following a speech by TLP leader Saad Rizvi, the protesters have set up their sit-in both above and below the Faizabad flyover on the Islamabad Expressway.
