Staff Reporter Lahore
Thousands of workers of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Paki-stan stayed put in Wazirabad on Saturday after be-ing instructed by the party leadership to do so as talks between the government and the religious party continued.
In wake of the TLP protests, the Wazirabad admini-stration sealed all roads leading out of the area in an effort to stop the marchers.
However, on Saturday morning, the Pakistan Rang-ers used teargas to contain the TLP supporters as they tried to move past Wazirabad through an alter-native route that goes through the city.
The TLP supporters opted for the alternative route after the government erected barricades on GT Road and dug up trenches to stop the marchers at the Chenab bridge.
Roads remained blocked and traffic suspended in Wazirabad on Saturday as TLP protestors intending to march on Islamabad encamped near the city for a second straight day.
Outside Wazirabad, security forces have dug trenches and placed barricades on the roads in an attempt to contain the mob near a crossing over the Chenab.
All roads between Wazirabad-Sialkot and Wazira-bad-Gujranwala have been sealed by government authorities to cut off the mob’s advance.
Train and internet services remain suspended in Gujranwala; however, life is inching back to nor-malcy in the city.
In the morning, thousands of TLP workers started moving towards Islamabad using a route that goes through the city, but they were pushed back by the paramilitary force that used teargas shells to dis-perse the protesters. The shelling forced the workers to retreat and are still present inside Wazirabad.
“There is a route that bypasses the city and connects to the bridge on Chenab River, while the second route goes through the heart of Wazirabad and joins the bridge at Chenab,” a resident said, adding that the admin didn’t dig up trenches on the second route.
Reportedly, the TLP workers came prepared to cross the hurdles – trenches and barricades – erected by the government to stop them on the bridge.
The march participants have cranes to remove containers and large planks to cross the trenches.
The participants of the march had spent the night at Wazirabad Bypass on Friday. They had managed to move towards Gujrat but police pushed them back from Zafar Ali Khan Chowk.
