Patrolling force replaces convoy system on KKH

Providing security to passengers

DIG police inaugurates first check-post in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has launched the Karakoram Highway (KKH) patrolling force to provide security to passengers travelling on the route, a senior police official said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters after inaugurating the first checkpost of the newly constituted KKH patrolling force here on Tuesday, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Hazara Range, Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur said that the ‘convoy system’ was no more in use on the KKH.

He said the convoy system was put in place on the KKH after the killing of passengers in Kohistan and Babusar top in the Kaghan valley in 2012. District Police Officer of Mansehra Ahsan Saifullah and Assistant Superintendent of Police Sonia Shamroz Khan were also present on the occasion.

Akhtar Hayat, who visited various sections of the newly established checkpost, said that though the convoy system was introduced for the safety of the passengers, it caused inconvenience to them. “Initially, 200 personnel of the newly established force will patrol the KKH from Mansehra to Bhasha in Kohistan and the number of cops will be increased after more financial resources are made available,” the DIG said.

He said that passengers travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan would be registered at the security post in the Mansehra district. “We have divided KKH from Shinkiari to Bhasha in 10 equal zones. The personnel of the force will patrol the highway round the clock,” he said.

Akhtar Hayat said that force was working independently and a superintendent of police and two deputy superintendents of police were deputed to oversee its affairs. He said two offices of the patrolling force had been established in Shinkiari and Bhasha. He said the cops guarding the KKH would perform duty in three shifts.

He expressed the hope that the new setup would yield good results and the passengers would feel safe.The official asked the media to help the police identify gray areas so that they could better serve the people. “The establishment of the KKH patrolling force is a step in the right direction. I am sure that now passengers and transporters who were facing difficulties would heave sigh of relief,” said Akhtar Hayat Gandapur.