Patiala, Nov. 15 -- The Qaumi Insaaf Morcha called off its protest at Shambhu toll barrier on the Punjab and Haryana border on the Rajpura-Ambala-Delhi highway after meeting a joint secretary from the Union ministry of home affairs, who assured the leaders that their memorandum seeking the release of Sikh prisoners would be forwarded to the Centre. "The joint secretary assured us that he will put forward all our demands to home minister Amit Shah. Therefore, we have decided to call off the stir as the aim behind the Delhi march was to hand over our memorandum," said morcha leader Gurcharan Singh Zarikpur. He, however, clarified that the ongoing protest at YPS Chowk in Mohali will continue. He said in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the release of Sikh prisoners, who had been incarcerated for over 30 years. However, none had been released since then. The morcha has been holding a sit-in at YPS Chowk since January 7, 2023, demanding the release of Sikh prisoners. On Thursday, the morcha announced its plan to march towards Delhi, prompting the Haryana authorities to initiate stringent security measures and barricading. Earlier in the day, morcha members, accompanied by several farmer unions, were stopped at the Punjab-Haryana border in Shambhu as they attempted to march towards Delhi to press their demand for the release of Sikh prisoners. The protesters said that they had planned to peacefully hand over their memorandum to the Prime Minister, the Union home minister and MPs in the national capital. Following a standoff with the Haryana Police, the protesters stayed put at the border while the senior Union government official held a meeting with the morcha leadership at the protest site. After receiving assurances, it decided to withdraw the agitation. Anticipating the march, the Haryana Police had sealed the inter-state border on Friday morning, placing jersey barriers across the Ghaggar overbridge and deploying heavy force to prevent protesters from entering the state. Ambala deputy commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar said that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) had been imposed across the district. Traffic diversions were implemented from early in the morning to minimise inconvenience....