The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) long march, led by Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, resumed its journey to Multan on Sunday after being halted for two days by police in Muzaffargarh. Authorities had placed containers on the Chenab Bridge in a bid to block the march, causing massive disruption in traffic between Multan and Muzaffargarh.
The blockade led to hours-long traffic jams, stranding commuters and goods transporters on both sides of the river. Vehicles carrying vegetables and medicines were also caught in the gridlock, leaving citizens frustrated and cursing the administration for the inconvenience.
While addressing the media in Muzaffargarh, Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman said he was exercising his constitutional right to peaceful protest. “I am a Pakistani. The Constitution gives me the right to protest. Balochistan is being run through remote control from Islamabad. We are going to tell Islamabad that we are the elected representatives – politics and governance are our domain,” he said.
Maulana said that Balochistan’s decisions were being made outside the province. “The bureaucracy, cabinet, judiciary, and media are paralysed. Mothers and sisters are protesting over missing persons. Unemployment is rampant. No one is safe on Balochistan’s highways – whether Baloch, Punjabi or Pashtun – everyone is being killed,” he remarked.
On Saturday night, the long march participants stayed in Muzaffargarh after facing repeated roadblocks throughout the day. Before leaving for Multan on Sunday morning, Maulana reiterated that the protest would remain peaceful. “Wherever the government blocks our path, we will stop and wait for the road to open. We have not blocked any road or caused any damage,” he said.
He also claimed that Muzaffargarh police had warned him about threats to his life. “I told them, if you don’t kill us, there’s no danger. We reached Muzaffargarh from Quetta, and we can reach Islamabad from here as well,” he added.
After the press talk, the march resumed its journey but was again stopped at the Chenab Bridge, where police placed more containers and completely sealed the road. The marchers camped on the roadside within Muzaffargarh’s limits, waiting for the blockade to be lifted.
The road was finally reopened by police around 5:30pm, allowing traffic to resume and the JI long march to continue towards Multan.