ISLAMABAD: A severe traffic jam outside Islamabad Airport caused chaos on Tuesday morning, leaving long queues of vehicles stranded and dozens of passengers, including prominent political leaders, unable to reach the airport on time for their flights.
Among those stuck in the gridlock was PTI leader Asad Qaiser, who said he was traveling to Skardu for election campaigning in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) when the road leading to the airport was completely blocked.
Initially, Qaiser assumed the closure was for security reasons. However, he later made a startling claim. “At first, I thought the road was closed due to security reasons, but later it was found that the road was closed because of me,” the former National Assembly speaker said.
In a bizarre twist, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique was also caught in the same rush and consequently missed his flight to Skardu. Airport sources confirmed that Rafique was heading to Skardu aboard a private airline flight for his own election campaign in the region.
The situation has raised questions about airport access management. The airport manager stated that a checkpoint has been set up outside the airport limits, adding, “I am not aware of it.”
Meanwhile, political tensions in Gilgit-Baltistan are already running high ahead of the elections scheduled for June 7. In a related development, PTI’s Junaid Akbar was expelled from Gilgit yesterday, further escalating the pre-poll atmosphere in the region.
With both major parties blaming each other for the traffic disruptions and missed flights, the events have highlighted the logistical challenges and political rivalries intensifying ahead of the GB vote.
