Rawalpindi-The Metro Bus Service (MBS) has been shut down between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad by the district government on Tuesday over the threat of a terror attack, official sources disclosed to The Nation. No prior notification was issued by the high ups of district government for closure of Metro Bus Service between Rawalpindi and federal capital that caused panic among the passengers, sources added.
The police along with personnel of other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have also held a mock security drill at all the stations of MBS to create sense of security among the passengers, they said. Passengers condemned the action of the district government.
Metro Bus Service is the largest and busiest bus service between the twin cities with dozens of buses loading and unloading more than 80000 passengers daily. According to sources, the police and personnel of other LEAs have conducted a joint security drill at all the stations following the threat issued by the intelligence agencies. All the stations have been shut down and security was put on high alert and intense search operations were underway at public bus service stations.
The security drill started with a call at local police station about a discarded bag found at a station. All the police officers rushed to the metro bus station and removed all the passengers from the terminal. Same was done on almost all the bus stations till Faizabad. No passenger was allowed by the security forces to go upstairs to buy a ticket; they said adding that even the pedestrians were not allowed to cross Murree Road through metro bus bridges.
The sudden security drill at metro bus stations caused immense trouble for passengers.
The private transporters including drivers of wagons, taxis and rickshaws fleeced the passengers.
On the other hand, the passengers criticized the police and district government high ups for conducting a mock drill without prior notification. “We were surprised as to what happened with the police and other LEAs who flooded the bus stations and pushed us out,” said Ahmed Khan, passenger.
He said we were told police received terror threats and the bus stations were being evacuated. “The district government should have issued a notification on media about the schedule of mock security exercise to avoid troubles to passengers”, said Saba Farooq, a university student.