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  "path": "/news/1973497/kp-remains-cut-off-from-rest-of-country-as-pti-continues-protest",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-16T01:30:35.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.dawn.com",
  "tags": [
    "Pakistan"
  ],
  "textContent": "PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained cut off from rest of the country on Sunday as activists of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf continued their protest on third consecutive day and blocked all entry and exit points of the province.\n\nThe PTI activists have blocked Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway at Swabi’s Anbar Interchange, GT Road at Khairabad Bridge, Dera Ismail Khan-Bhakkar Road, Lakki Marwat-Mianwali Road, Hazara Motorway at Abbottabad-Havelian Interchange, Kohat-Pindi Road near Khushal Garh and Upper Kohistan-Gilgit Karakoram Highway.\n\nProtesters remained present all the time at exit and entry points and did not allow a single vehicle to enter the province, causing serious problems to passengers and motorists destined to Islamabad and other parts of the country.\n\nFormer governor Shah Farman, PTI Peshawar district president Irfan Saleem, deputy secretary information Ikram Khattana and other leaders of the party were present at Khairabad Bridge, connecting Attock district of Punjab with KP.\n\n> Commuters, motorists face hardships\n\nProtesters have been demanding of the government to shift PTI founder Imran Khan from jail to hospital for treatment of his eye by doctors of his choice.\n\nSpeaking on the occasion, Shah Farman said that under Article-4 of the Constitution, no authority could deny treatment of his choice to a patient. He said that the people, who were not allowing treatment of Imran Khan through doctors of his choice, would be responsible if his eye was further damaged.\n\nPTI workers blocked Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway near Swabi Interchange to all types of traffic, vowing to stay on roads till Imran Khan was shifted to hospital for medical treatment.\n\nVendors were seen selling various eatables while setting up stalls on motorway, converting it into a market. PTI Swabi general secretary Afsar Khan told journalists that they were not ready to go back homes under any circumstances.\n\n“We will continue to sit here and if our demand is not accepted. This protest will continue. The federal government is responsible for the prevailing mess in the country,” he said.\n\nStranded commuters said that government should take action against PTI workers to open the motorway to traffic because people, especially patients, were facing difficulties.\n\n“Where should we go, who should we beg, who should we ask and who should we request to open the motorway,” questioned Shahzad Khan, a resident of Peshawar.\n\nUzair Khan, a resident of Gundam who was seriously injured in a firing incident on Saturday, was not allowed to reach a hospital in Peshawar through motorway. The circumstances forced his family to pass through Swabi and Mardan but he did not reach hospital and passed away.\n\nHis relatives said that PTI workers were responsible for his death. During the last three days, it has been observed, that there is no rush at daytime at the venue of protest. In the afternoon youth start to arrive at rest area and in the evening there is a lot of crowd on motorway.\n\nPTI workers blocked roads at four key points in Dera Ismail Khan district on Sunday, suspending traffic and causing inconvenience to commuters and motorists.\n\nThe sit-ins were held on Bhakkar Road, Multan Road, Chashma Road and CPEC route, bringing vehicular movement to a standstill at these locations. As a result, long queues of vehicles were seen on major arteries.\n\nWitnesses said that several commuters remained stranded for hours, while alternative routes also experienced heavy congestion due to diverted traffic. The protest is being held on the call of PTI central leaders, who have urged workers to demonstrate over the deteriorating health of Imran Khan and demand his immediate release.\n\nThe district administration was monitoring the situation while residents called for restoration of traffic flow to ease their hardships.\n\nPTI activists continued protest demonstrations in Lakki Marwat and Karak districts on the second consecutive day on Sunday.\n\nA good number of party workers led by former district nazim Ishfaq Ahmad Khan Minakhel gathered at Darra Tang Point where they closed Bannu-Mianwali road, linking KP with Punjab and Islamabad via CPEC route.\n\nThe closure of road on the second consecutive day troubled transporters and commuters as passenger and good transport vehicles queued up on both sides of the main artery.\n\nOn the occasion, the former district nazim said that denial of access to healthcare and maltreatment by federal government had led to loss of Imran’s vision. He said that PTI activists had come on roads to hold peaceful protests against the PML-N government, which was responsible for the poor health of their party leader.\n\nIn Karak, the PTI workers gathered outside Nashapa oil and gas field and staged a sit-in there. They stopped supply from the oil and gas field as oil tankers could not enter or come out of the area.\n\nAn official of district administration confirmed disruption of oil supply from the field. PTI district president Inayat Khattak said that leaders and workers of the party decided in a meeting to shut down oil and gas fields in Makori, Nashapa and Gurguri to record their protest against non-provision of treatment facilities to Imran Khan.\n\n_Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2026_",
  "title": "KP remains cut off from rest of country as PTI continues protest"
}