Bashir Hussain Azad
CHITRAL: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders in Lower Chitral have expressed serious concern and anger over the delay in construction of the Kalkatak-Chitral section of the N-45, warning the federal government of a strong protest movement if work on the project does not begin within one month.
Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, PPP leaders Qazi Waqar Iqbal Advocate, Sajjad Akhund, Javed Iqbal, Javed Akhtar, Bashir Ahmed, Tahir Zaman, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Iqbal Hayat and Zohaib criticised the National Highway Authority (NHA) and the PML-N-led federal government over what they described as prolonged negligence and an unexplained delay in the vital road project.
The PPP leaders claimed that the government had obtained a loan from Korea’s EXIM Bank in 2016 for construction of the 48-kilometre Kalkatak-Chitral road. However, despite the passage of nearly 11 years, no practical work had yet begun on the ground.
According to the PPP representatives, the project has an estimated cost of Rs27 billion and is of critical importance for Chitral, as the road provides a vital link between the district and other parts of the country. They accused the NHA of failing to initiate the project despite the financing arrangements already having been made.
The PPP leaders also expressed concern over what they termed the silence of elected representatives on the issue. They particularly criticised PML-N MNA Ghazala Anjum, alleging that she had failed to effectively raise the issue of the Kalkatak-Chitral road at the federal level.
They said civil society had previously raised its voice for roads connecting Kalash valleys, Garam Chashma and Shandur, but the Kalkatak-Chitral road had not received similar attention despite its importance to the region.
The PPP leaders also questioned the performance of the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission, claiming that its chairman, Brigadier Ranjha, had visited Chitral more than 20 times during the past year but failed to take notice of the condition of the road and the prolonged delay in the project.
They added that the federal government was neglecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while giving greater priority to Punjab, and demanded immediate action to resolve the issue.
Issuing a final one-month ultimatum, the PPP leaders warned that practical work on the Kalkatak-Chitral road must begin within the stipulated period. Otherwise, they said, they would burn an effigy of Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan outside the National Press Club in Islamabad and launch a wider protest movement.
The PPP leaders said the responsibility for any resulting protest campaign would rest entirely with the federal government if the project remained stalled beyond the one-month deadline.