CHAKWAL, Feb 19: Commuters on Islamabad-Lahore Motorway (M2) had to ensure a tough time as protesters staging a sit-in at Balkassar Interchange against the Quetta killings blocked it for about 30 hours.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen at both sides of the motorway. The authorities pleaded the protesters to open the road but to no avail.

The stranded commuters kept on calling the Motorway Police for help but to no avail. The road was at last opened on Tuesday evening when the protesters heard that the sit-in in Quetta had ended.

“Despite the bloodshed of innocent Hazaras, we did not resort to any act of violence and showed maximum patience,” said Syed Mohammad Taqi, who was leading the protesters, while talking to Dawn.

“As many as 25,000 vehicles use M2 on a daily basis and due to the blockade there was a huge rush of vehicles,” said Malik Tahir, the admin officer of the motorway police.