The passenger’s ordeal: Six days on, Karakoram Highway remains off limits

According to officials, there are many points on highway where provincial government cannot provide security to buses.

GILGIT:

Karakoram Highway (KKH) remains off limits since the past six days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Rawalpindi.

Traffic was suspended a day before sectarian violence erupted in Rawalpindi on Ashura. “The decision to suspend traffic has been taken because the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government hasn’t given us clearance,” said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Ali Sher on Tuesday. There have been widespread protests in Diamer valley and Kohistan against the riots on various points on the highway, the DIG added.

According to officials, there are many points on the highway where the provincial government cannot provide security for buses. A spokesperson for the government-supported Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO) said it would resume bus service only after the authorities allow them.

In addition to the highway being closed, unfavourable weather conditions have also forced Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to suspend air traffic to the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2013.