DarkTimes - 24Hr Global News Blog

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI, Dec 28: Social and economic life in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the nearby cities of Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Fateh Jang, Taxila, Wah and Attock remained paralysed on the first day of three-day mourning on Friday over former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination.The complete shutter down was rare and never seen in the recent history of the country as the nation from Khyber to Karachi was in a state of shock over Ms Bhutto's assassination.In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, almost all major and small business centres and markets remained closed with no public transport on the road, causing hardships to people. The federal capital was presenting a deserted look. Government offices and markets were closed and traffic on the road was thin.Protesters burnt tyres at different road crossings in the two cities, including Aabpara Market, Jinnah Avenue, Peshawar More, Karachi Company, Barakahu, Faizabad, Stadium Road, 6th Road, Rehmanabad, Chandni Chowk, Committee Chowk, Marrir Chowk, many areas in Saddar, Ratta Amral, Fowwara Chowk and Lal Kurti.In Islamabad, Aabpara Market, Super Market, Jinnah Super Market, Karachi Company Market, F-10 Markaz, F-8 Markaz, F-11 Markaz, G-10, G-11 Markaz and all I&T Centres remained closed. It was for the first time that even the retail business remained suspended for the whole day.Long queues of people were seen at wagon stops and bays where they waited for hours to get cabs to reach different destinations. Taking advantage of the situation, taxi drivers charged higher fares.Roads and streets in Rawalpindi were deserted, except for thin movement of private vehicles and ambulances. The usually bustling Murree Road looked deserted. Public transport was not available and employees of essential services agencies had to walk kilometres to reach their duty stations. Drug stores, private clinics, grocery stores, bakeries, hotels and restaurants, fruits and vegetable vendors, petrol pumps and CNG stations were also closed, as were shopping malls, shops and business centres and academic institutes.Marriage and other social ceremonies planned for Friday and the next two days have been cancelled.Banners of candidates of different political parties, particularly of the PML-Q, were removed from the Murree Road, Rawalpindi cantonment and other areas. Several election offices of the PML-Q were burnt by protestors.In a statement, the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the business community stood by the nation in the hour of grief and condemned the assassination of Ms Bhutto.Our Reporter Mudassir Raja adds: The closure of petrol pumps and gas stations in Rawalpindi affected patients the most because they could not be taken to hospitals. Those who somehow managed to reach hospitals found it difficult to return home.A young man, Mohammad Nadeem, was seen asking a motorcyclist to take his mother to Sadiqabad because she could not walk due to pain in her knees but the biker told him that he had no petrol and walked away with his motorcycle.In some areas, petrol and diesel were sold in the black market at higher rates.There was no business activity in Raja Bazaar, Banni area, Saidpur Road, Murree Road, Sadiqabad, Naz Cinema, Dhoke Khabba, Arian Mohalla and other areas.Our Reporter Marium Kiani has this detail: Mr Rehan of Satellite Town told Dawn: “I went to meet some relative at Askari-VII on Thursday evening; coming home cost me Rs500 because there was no public vehicle available and the taxi I got after a long wait charged me higher.”“We are not getting out of homes because it's risky,” said Haleema, a university student.