Metro bus service resumes Islamabad-Rawalpindi

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ISLAMABAD: The Metro bus service has been resumed after it remained off the track in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for the four days for security reasons to the misery of those commuting between the twin cities.

The suspension of the fast bus service, which covers key areas of the twin cities and is used by around 120,000 people daily, occurred as scores of the supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, with the sit-in outside the Parliament House and adjoining key government installations for four days.

Resorting to violence, the protesters destroyed several metro bus stations on Jinnah Avenue, causing inconvenience to the people, who had to commute between the twin cities for one reason or the other, due to the suspension of the fast metro bus service plying the 22.5km route.

They used either slow-moving minibuses or fast taxis to reach their respective destinations. Some complained cabbies overcharged them.

An official of the Punjab Metro Bus Authority put the damage caused to metro bus stations by mob at around Rs120 million.