Tirah dwellers seek removal of unnecessary checkposts

TIRAH, Khyber Agency: The residents of Bara sub-division including Tirah Maidan and Kajori asked Corps Commander Peshawar and Inspector General Frontier Corps to order removal of unnecessary checkposts on the Sheenkamar-Tirah road in Khyber Agency.

They said the tribal people were facing a host of problems while travelling from Tirah Maidan to Bara due to the strict checking and the dilapidated condition of the road.

The residents said on the one hand 43 kilometres stretch of the road was broken from Bara to Mastaq Bridge and on the other at least 20 checkpoints were established on the 89 kilometers long road.

Talking to The News, Aqib Khan Afridi belonging to Bar Qambarkhel said the residents of Maidan in Tirah valley were facing problems due to the poor condition of the Sheenkamar-Tirah road. He said that 25 checkposts were established from Bara Bazaar to Maidan. “Due to unnecessary checkposts, at least two hours are wasted while travelling from Tirah Dwatoi to Bara,” he said.

Yousaf Khan Afridi, 90, said the tribal people had already suffered a lot due to militancy but they were now facing hardships because of unnecessary checkpoints. “The tribal people belonging to Tirah and Bara had expressed pleasure over the reopening of the Sheenkamar-Tirah road,” he reminded.

He said passenger vehicles had to take alternate route through Orakzai Agency to reach Tirah Maidan. “We left Bar Bagh early morning and when we reached Dwatoi, the security forces personnel asked the drivers to park vehicles on the roadside for searching. We had to wait for two hours at the first checkpost,” Usman Afridi said.

He asked the government to give relief to the residents of Tirah who had to travel on then Sheenkamar-Tirah road. “When we reached the Nari Baba area, the security forces men again stopped our vehicle for 20 minutes,” he recalled.

Usman Afridi maintained that many people were not using the Sheenkamar-Tirah road due to unnecessary checking at the checkposts and preferred to take the longer route via Orakzai Agency.