Bashir Hussain Azad | ChitralToday
CHITRAL: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Lower Chitral has announced to launch a “Road Movement” to protest poor road conditions and alleged corruption in the National Highway Authority (NHA), announcing a four-phase campaign that will culminate in a district-wide wheel-jam strike from Arandu to Broghil.
Addressing a press conference alongside JI KP Vice Amir Maghfirat Shah and other local leaders, JI Lower Chitral chief Wajeeh Uddin blamed the region’s underdevelopment on neglected road infrastructure. He said corruption in road projects had peaked and the government remained indifferent.
The protest will include public rallies from Kari to Mastuj (starting next Friday), a wheel-jam strike with driver unions’ support, locking NHA offices in Chitral, a final wheel-jam involving all areas of the district.
Wajeeh Uddin called the Chitral-Shandur Road a symbol of NHA\’s failure and criticized the installation of a temporary bridge at Shaidas Nullah during the Shandur Festival as an insult to locals.
He also dismissed the Prime Minister’s Inspection Team’s visit as ineffective and vowed to engage other political parties and civil society groups in the campaign.
Criticizing large-scale corruption in the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), JI demanded accountability and praised the current TMO, alleging PTI seeks his removal, a move JI would resist.
Tirich Mir Drivers Union President Sabir Ahmad also pledged full support, rejecting NHA\’s toll tax at Lowari Tunnel and TMA’s local levies.