After four days of blockade, KKH opens for traffic

Government cedes to protesters’ demands.

GILGIT/RAWALPINDI:

After four days of blockade, the Karakoram Highway (KKH) finally reopened for traffic as the government ceded to protesters’ demands on Thursday. 

Regional Health Minister Gulbar Khan said the primary demand of the protesters was “security for Diamer valley residents in Gilgit.” Protesters had demanded the death penalty for killers of a local, Abdul Wakil, who fell victim to sectarian violence in Gilgit, along with compensation for his family.

Following negotiations between representatives of the government and the people of Diamer valley, Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattha accepted the demands which included setting up a passport office in Chilas and declaring Astore-Diamer  a division.

It was also decided that a larger committee representing Sunni and Shia leaders would be formed to promote sectarian harmony.

Sources said Inspector General Police Hussain Asghar, senior minister Muhammad Jaffer and other lawyers representing the government, along with G-B assembly opposition leader Janbaz Khan, Minister Works Bashir Ahmed and religious leaders representing the Diamer community also participated in the negotiations. The talks were held in Juglote, midway between Gilgit and Chilas, sources added.

Sources said the Chilas delegation raised serious concerns over the incessant killings of outsiders in Gilgit, the provincial capital of G-B, which is in the grip of sectarian violence.

The delegation observed that the people who are forced to go to Gilgit to find work are sent back in body bags. “If our people are not safe in Gilgit, an area of 4 kilometres, how come we guarantee safety for the people travelling on KKH via the 200 km-long patch passing through Diamer valley,” it added.

The KKH was blocked after the body of Wakil, a native of Chilas, was brought to Chilas for burial five days ago.

Meanwhile, hundreds of vehicles stuck in Chilas resumed their journey after KKH, a vital trade route linking G-B with China and rest of the country, was opened for traffic.

Rawalpindi transporters experience backlog

Following the opening of the KKH on Thursday, transporters at the Pirwadhai Bus Terminal providing transit on the Karakoram Highway are experiencing a backlog of passengers.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sher Khan, an official of a private transport company said they have been given permission to initiate bus service on KKH, however, due to the large number of passengers wanting to travel it will take a few days to overcome the backlog. He said KKH is one of the most vulnerable routes due to frequent sectarian clashes in the region, adding that “ultimately it is the people who suffer.”

The passengers have criticised the G-B government for its “inability to ensure law and order”.

Sabit Karim, a disgruntled passenger stranded in Rawalpindi for the past five days said, “It proves the sheer incompetence of the provincial government that a handful of protesters can take the law in their own hands.” He said “might is right” in the country as everyone considers himself above the law.

Ahmed Hussain, an army official waiting to board a bus at Pirwadhai, said, “We are being punished by both the government and the people of Chilas.” He said the people sympathise with the victim’s family, but that does not justify ‘this punishment’.

He criticised the chief minister, governor and high-ups of law enforcement agencies for “giving a free hand to some people to create problems for the entire region.”

Another passenger Afzal Khaliq said he was relieved that the KKH had reopened and he could head back home. “We cannot trust this government to ensure our security on the way,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2012.