Kohat tunnel: Long queues, insufficient scanning leaves passengers aggravated

Lack of willing van drivers has also increased fare and decreased number of journeys.

PESHAWAR:

In the wake of recent unrest in the suburban areas of the city, travelling through the Kohat Tunnel has become more aggravating for passengers travelling to Peshawar from southern districts.

Having to clear multiple security checks established by military and paramilitary troops mean travellers are left waiting in kilometre-long queues for hours.

Also known as the Pak-Japan Friendship Tunnel, the 1.85 kilometre long route was built not only to reduce the amount of road travel by about 20 km but create a safer route through the Kotal Pass, which has hairpin bends and turns. In addition to this, there is an increasing threat of attacks by militants.

In January 2011, twin blasts ripped through the tunnel killing five and injuring 19 others. Since then, there has been strict protocol on who can use the tunnel, with a warning being issued in August to all foreigners to not use the tunnel after threats by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

After interviewing drivers at Karak bus terminal, most seemed reluctant to travel to Peshawar. Drivers at the terminal said they would usually only travel to Kohat to avoid having to pass through the numerous security checkpoints along the route to get into Peshawar.

Inamullah, who drives a Toyota Hiace, says he has changed his travel routes and now takes passengers along a much more pleasant route to Rawalpindi using the Attock Bridge. “I have bitter experiences being stuck for long hours in queues near the Kohat Tunnel, which then delays my return journey,” he said.

This reluctance of van and bus drivers to travel to Peshawar from southern regions has not only made it harder for passengers to find free seats on the remaining vehicles using the route, but has also driven up journey fares.

Akbar Zaman, a passenger who uses this route frequently, says that it is become more and more absurd that even with the increase in fares the time spent waiting in queues is increasing. After much waiting, Zaman found that the security personnel were not actually conducting thorough checks but were just asking for their identification cards.

He said that the increased fare was now Rs250 from Karak to Peshawar as compared to the government’s announcement of the fare being just Rs170. The new fare list was issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Transport Department on October 30, which has decreased fares up to 30% for vehicles using CNG.

Hamid Iqbal, another passenger travelling from Kohat to Peshawar, was worried anticipating a long wait through the tunnel. However, he too expressed concern over the lack of thorough checking with many security officials just asking for ID cards.

Travelling from southern parts of K-P onto Peshawar, many have complained that passengers are rarely frisked and luggage is rarely checked. A lack of proper equipment in place has also meant that all checking has to be done manually.

Although passengers seem to be happy that there are increasing security precautions being taken for their safety, the lack of rigorous checking has meant that many are left doubtful of just how much scrutiny officials are paying to possible militant threats.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2012.