Peshawar — The ongoing closure of the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway (M-1) by PTI activists at Swabi rest area, now in its second week, has caused severe traffic disruption, forcing commuters, transporters, and traders onto the overburdened Grand Trunk (GT) Road and creating widespread hardship across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and beyond.
The protest, demanding early medical treatment for PTI founder Imran Khan, has blocked the main artery linking Peshawar with the rest of the country since last Friday, diverting heavy traffic to the pothole-ridden GT Road.
Motorway closure heaps misery on commuters, transporters, traders https://t.co/UEHzc9HhRZ
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) February 17, 2026
Key Highlights
- M-1 closed at Swabi rest area since Friday.
- GT Road under severe strain with diverted traffic.
- Commuters face 10+ hour journeys instead of 2–3 hours.
- Public transport from Peshawar bus stand drops from 3,000 to 1,500 vehicles daily.
- Faisal Movers suspends Peshawar-Islamabad operations.
- Vegetable prices rise over 10% in Peshawar due to delayed supplies.
- Business community reports losses from stranded raw material trucks.
Commuters report massive gridlocks, especially at Attock crossing, with hundreds of vehicles stuck for hours. Jan Mulk, a businessman travelling from Islamabad to Peshawar, said he left at 4:30 pm Sunday and reached Attock by 6:30 pm only to face a jam forcing him to return and spend the night in Islamabad.
Transporters face acute difficulties. Khan Zaman Afridi, president of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transporters Association, said usual 2–3 hour motorway trips now take over 10 hours on GT Road, which is filled with potholes, vans, Qingqi rickshaws, and push carts. He noted commuter arrivals at bus stands have halved, as only those with urgent needs travel.
Junaid Altaf, president of KP Chamber of Commerce and Industry, questioned the rationale, asking whether the closure troubles people of KP or those in Punjab and Sindh. He highlighted that prolonged Pak-Afghan border closures had already hurt business, and now stranded trucks carrying raw material are delaying factory production.
Malik Sohni, president of All Pakistan Agriculture Produce Traders Federation, said vegetable prices in Peshawar have risen over 10 per cent due to delayed supplies of perishable items like potatoes, onions, tomatoes, okra, garlic, peas, and leafy greens from Punjab. “Fresh supplies not reaching on time automatically drive prices up,” he said.
The closure has also affected people attending business meetings, exams, international flights from Islamabad airport, and medical treatment, with many expressing frustration over the prolonged disruption to daily life.
Police remain deployed at key points to manage traffic and maintain order. No official timeline for reopening the motorway has been announced, with authorities stating the situation will be reviewed based on developments at the protest site.
The prolonged blockade highlights the challenges of balancing political expression with public mobility and economic flow, as ordinary citizens bear the brunt of extended road restrictions across the region. Further updates will follow as the situation evolves.
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