Hundreds of passengers and carriers remain blocked as Harban residents in Upper Kohistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, block the Karakoram motorway (KKH) for a seventh day, demanding immediate and higher compensation for land acquired for the Diamer-Basha Dam project.
The sit-in near Harban Nallah cut the main route connecting Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to the rest of the country, creating serious shortages of food and medicines and leaving hundreds of trucks carrying immobilized goods.
Witnesses said travelers were stuck on both sides of the highway.
Protest leaders accuse Wapda and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa administration of not having honored the promises of payments in remuneration. “Our lands were taken, but the rates were unfair and the payments were delayed for years,” said Niamat Khan, one of the organizers.
Managers of the Kohistan administration and WAPDA say that around RS3 billion is due in total, with nearly 2 billion rupees already transferred to the account of the assistant commissioner. They insist that the rest will be released once the legal formalities are completed, but the demonstrators reject other delays.
The blockade increased the prices of vegetables such as onions and tomatoes, while transport has reassigned to the Babusar pass has high prices, aggravating inflation in the fragile local economy. Traders and carriers report heavy daily losses.
Civil society groups have criticized the silence of the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, questioning the brief of the state. “The authorities of GB and KP seem indifferent while people suffer,” said Mufti Kumail, merchant of Gilgit.
Diammer Valley is particularly affected, residents of Darel and Tangir unable to go to Chilas or Gilgit, paralyzing daily life and economic activity.
The demonstrators promise to continue the sit-in until their requests are satisfied, while residents and merchants urge federal and provincial governments to negotiate and restore traffic on the strategic highway.
