RAWALPINDI: The failure of talks between the government and opposition PTI has raised fears of road closures in the garrison city, worrying residents, traders and students about possible disruptions in the coming days. Due to this, universities in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad will continue their online classes amid fears of road closures in the coming week. Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi near Faizabad will conduct online classes on Monday and is yet to decide whether on-campus classes will start or not. A senior university official told Dawn that online classes were safer as, in case of protest rallies, the administration would immediately vacate the boys’ and girls’ hostels. “It will be difficult for the university administration to ask the students to go back home for a few days,” he said, adding that after assessing the situation on Monday, a decision would be taken on starting on-campus classes. Traders urge govt, opposition to resolve their political issues and create conducive environment for business Private schools on Murree Road and 6th Road were also worried as, in case of protests, the administration would close them. “We have not completed the syllabus which was supposed to be completed before the winter vacations due to the sudden closure of schools last month,” said Mohammad Umer, the owner of a private school. When contacted, District Education Authority Chief Executive Officer Yaseen Khan Baloch said there was no notification regarding the closure of schools. “We closed schools last month but classes for 9th and 10th grades continued,” he said. He said a school on Murree Road had been handed over to the police to accommodate police personnel. “We provided the third floor of the Education Authority building to accommodate the police so that education in schools will not suffer,” he said. Traders asked the government and opposition to end their political issues and create a conducive environment for businesses, saying the threat of closure of roads and bazaars had disturbed them. Rawalpindi Anjuman Tajraan President Shahid Ghafoor Paracha said that for the last one month shopkeepers had failed to do business easily as, last week, all roads leading to Rawalpindi and Islamabad were closed, and now the PTI has started a protest march from KP which would lead to the closure of roads again. He said Rawalpindi’s trade centres catered to the twin cities, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and adjoining areas, and during such circumstances, people would not come to the bazaars and traders could not send their goods for fear that trucks would get stuck. He said inflation had already squeezed the purchasing power of people and traders had failed to do business for the last month amid the threat of protest rallies and sit-ins. According to an official, more than 43,200 police personnel have been deployed to deal with the PTI march. Of the 43,200, as many as 30,700 police personnel have been deployed in Attock, 10,600 in Rawalpindi district and 1,976 in Jhelum, Murree and Chakwal. For the accommodation of the police force, five government schools, one private school and a college in and around Taxila have been vacated. Moreover, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) had sent 22 water tankers on September 22 to Taxila to cater to the police, which have not yet returned to the garrison city, disturbing the water supply system. Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2026