Transport services suspended on Gilgit route

Vehicle owners demand security on KKH after terror attack

RAWALPINDI:

The owners of public transport vehicles going from Rawalpindi to the ten districts of Gilgit-Baltistan said on Sunday they were suspending their services to the area in the wake of a gun attack a day earlier in which at least ten people lost their lives.

A collective of local transporters said their services would remain suspended till they were provided security, particularly a “40-50 km strip around Chilas” where the attack took place.

They also demanded the arrest of those involved in the attack that the caretaker prime minister said was the responsibility of anti-state elements. Local authorities said Sunday they had arrested six suspects in connection with the attack.

Meanwhile, the closure of the transport service left hundreds of passengers stranded at various bus stops in Rawalpindi as well as the locations in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The transporters parked their vehicles at the bus terminals and took part in a protest demanding security. They also carried placards referring to the Chilas attack.

Read G-B bus attack case filed; six suspects held

Malik Shehbaz, an office bearer of the Pakistan Transporters’ Welfare Association, said around 250 vehicles ply the routes between Rawalpindi and Gilgit daily. “Hundreds of passengers use the service daily to travel to areas such as Bisham, Kohistan and elsewhere,” he added.

The passengers also feel unsafe as do transporters, he continued. The suspension of transport services to Gilgit will stay in place until we are provided adequate security and those responsible for the incident are brought to account, said Shehbaz. Aun Al Hussain, another office bearer of the collective, said they needed extra security over 40-50 km strip of the Karakoram Highway near Chilas in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

At least ten people lost their lives and another 21 passengers were injured after unidentified gunmen targeted a bus from nearby hills which caused the vehicle to collide with a goods truck in the Hudur area of Chilas.

The deputy commissioner of Diamer said the buses had set off from Gahkuch in Ghizer. The bus driver was among the casualties.

Most of the passengers killed in the attack hailed from across the country, including Kohistan, Peshawar, Ghizer, Chilas, Roundu, Skardu, Mansehra, Swabi and one or two people from Sindh. Those killed included two army soldiers.

No group had claimed responsibility for the attack with the motive for the shooting not clear.

A case was registered against unidentified miscreants at the Diamer police station. The official said all entry and exit points of GB were closed with security in the region on high alert.

Meanwhile, local police said they were conducting search operations across Diamer, which also resulted in suspension of traffic on the Karakoram Highway.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2023.