Sections of Karakoram Highway blocked in K-P, G-B

Sections of the Karakoram Highway were blocked on Monday in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan due to a landslide and mudslide – making it hard for the travellers to commute.

The highway connects Punjab to northern areas of the country before crossing into China.

National Highway Authority (NHA) Shangla and Kohistan Deputy Director Ghulam Abbas cited mudflow in Lahore nullah as the reason behind blockage of the highway near Shangla’s Bisham city in K-P.

Abbas said that a team was mobilised to clear the highway and restore the accessibility of road number 221 near Bisham.

Moreover, he said, there was another instance of road blockage at road number 428 in the Ginni area of G-B’s Diamer district due to a landslide. He added that a Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) team had initiated road clearance operations at this spot.

Separately, Dimer Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Muhammad Arif said that the primary route connecting G-B to Mansehra, which serves as an alternative to the Karakoram Highway, was also blocked at Babusar.

He said that efforts were underway to clear the road for traffic and stranded tourists and passengers should expect the road to be accessible within a few hours.

While waiting at Lahore Nullah, Nabeel Ali, a tourist en route to Skardu with his family, said he was expecting the road to reopen within hours as an FWO team had reached the spot.

He also appealed to the government to address such travel-related challenges.

Meanwhile, Hayat Khan, who resides near Lahore nullah, said that intense rainfall had led to the suspension of electricity and damaged water supply lines in the area.

He said electricity pylons fell onto the Karakoram Highway by the force of strong winds combined with rain, adding that Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) staff had subsequently disconnected the electricity supply to the area and removed the impaired pylons.

But the entire area, including Bisham city, “remains a state of darkness”, he said.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi also saw heavy rain, following which Water and Sanitation Agency Managing Director Muhammad Tanveer said in a statement that drainage of rainwater had been initiated.

Separately, Rescue 1122 reported that a man had slipped into Nullah Lai during the rain. Rescue teams were engaged in the search for the individual, the statement said.