Passengers suffer due to continuous road blockade in Mohmand

GHALLANAI: The passengers faced great hardships as the Khassadars continued blocking the Peshawar-Bajaur road for traffic in Mohmand district on Tuesday.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the road and passengers including elderly people, women and children, remained stuck up due to road blockade in this sizzling summer.

The passengers blasted the authorities for their indifferent attitude towards the problems of common people, particularly the passengers and patients, who stranded for hours in the scorching heat because of road blockade in area.

Eyewitnesses said that some of the children fell unconscious due to hot weather and non-availability of drinking water and other food items. The passengers also chanted slogans against the district administration and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister for heeding no attention towards their woes.

Meanwhile, continuing their protest sit-in for acceptance of their demands, the Khassadars blocked the Peshawar-Bajaur road to protest their sacking and blocking salaries. Elders of Halimzai, Khwezai, Baizai, Tarakzai, Safi and Uthmankhel tribes and members of Mohmand Siyasi Ittehad asked the government to reinstate the Khassadars. They said that the Khassadars had rendered matchless sacrifices during militancy and war on terrorism for which they should have been rewarded. They said that they migrated to other parts of the country as per the government directives at that time but later the authorities concerned sacked them with a single stroke of a pen.

They demanded the authorities concerned to reinstate their services and release the stuck up salaries forthwith or else they would launch a stronger protest for their rights.

A few days ago, District Police Officer Tariq Habib had visited the sit-in camp and met the elders. The DPO had told the elders that all issues, including reinstatement of Khassadars, release of their salaries and marble mines, would be resolved through jirgas, but no practical step had been take in this regard.