Contrary to Punjab government claims, various roads in Lahore were closed on Saturday, causing significant distress for residents.

Before the PTI rally, the government repeatedly assured that no roads would be closed. But the Babu Sabu Interchange has been completely shut down for all types of traffic for at least four hours.

The Saggian Bridge, Shahdara, and Thokar Niaz Beg were also inaccessible to traffic, leaving travellers entering and exiting Lahore frustrated and stranded.

Due to the road closures, ambulances were unable to navigate through, with no entry points available for them to access the city.

In their separate press conferences, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari claimed that roads were open in the provincial capital.

The development came amid the PTI rally in Kahna. Several supporters of PTI started leaving the Kahna rally site on Saturday as the police took control of the stage and shut down the lights after the time allotted for the public gathering ended at 6pm.

Hundreds of people gathered for the PTI rally in Lahore’s Ring Road. As soon as the scheduled time ended, the sound system was turned off.

According to Aaj News correspondents, the only lights on the site were of mobile phone flashlights and the DSNG vans. Live footage at 7:07pm showed the stage was being moved.