Safe travel on Indus Highway: Officials take steps to ensure implementing PHC’s directives

KOHAT: Following public complaints and the directives issued by the Peshawar High Court (PHC), a high-level meeting was held at the Commissioner’s House in Kohat to ensure safe travel on the Indus Highway.

The meeting, chaired by Kohat Division Commissioner Syed Muttasim Billah Shah, was convened to discuss traffic management, load regulation, and accident prevention on the Indus Highway in light of the Peshawar High Court’s orders.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Abbas Majid Marwat along with representatives from the National Highway Authority (NHA), NESPAK, Provincial Transport Authority, and the commissioners, RPOs and deputy commissioners of Peshawar, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan divisions attended the meeting, some of them via video link.

A detailed review of progress on the court’s directives was presented.Kohat commissioner has been appointed as the focal person for the Indus Highway, responsible for overseeing traffic discipline and load management and for regularly submitting progress reports to the court.

It was decided that the police would fully cooperate with the commissioners in enforcing regulations, patrolling and implementing the law. The NHA was instructed to immediately install weigh stations at all origin points of the Indus Highway to prevent overloaded vehicles from entering the road.

Penalties, unloading requirements, and cancellation of route permits and driving licences for overloaded vehicles would also be enforced.The meeting also recommended the immediate deployment of Motorway/NHA police and instructed drivers to strictly avoid driving in the wrong direction. Additionally, the NHA was directed to expedite repair and maintenance work and to promptly install U-turns and signboards to improve road conditions and reduce accident risks.

Kohat commissioner said that implementing the high court’s directives was a top government priority. He pledged that ensuring safe travel on the Indus Highway and protecting the lives and property of citizens was the administration’s foremost responsibility, which would be achieved through coordinated efforts of all relevant departments.