Beyond Landi Kotal

A few days ago I, along with some other retired naval officers and our families, undertook a road trip to Landi Kotal and beyond up to the Pak-Afghan border. While the road network leading to the border is in good condition, the railway line is in absolute shambles. It is broken and disconnected all throughout the route. The tunnels through which it used to pass have been converted into residential areas by nomads. I once travelled through this area via train in the 1960s.

Over time there should have been an improvement in the tracks. Instead, they have been ignored. Our local guide also showed us some portion of the Durand Line where the government has recently erected about 1000 kilometres of barbed wire to prevent smuggling across the borders, which has marred the scenic beauty. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government needs to improve the state of affairs to attract more tourists to this mesmerising terrain.

Cdre (r) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari

Islamabad