Protests on KKH in Abbottabad banned

ABBOTTABAD: The district administration has decided to declare strategic Karakoram Highway (KKH) limits in the city as ‘Red Zone’ for holding protests and designated a space at the Jinnah Park for all kinds of such meetings.

This was decided at a review meeting of traffic management convened recently in the Deputy Commissioner’s Office here.  Abbottabad Deputy Commissioner Khalid Mehmood presided over the meeting.

Other participants included Lt-Gen (r) Ayaz Saleem Rana, tehsil nazims of Abbottabad and Havelian, president of the District Bar Association, secretary of Road Transport Authority, representatives of the Tehsil Municipal Administration and Cantonment Board,  traders, officer-bearers of the transport unions and members of civil society.  The deputy commissioner confirmed the decision to The News and said a notification would be issued soon.

The official said the strategic highway in Hazara Division linking it with Gilgit-Baltistan is a lifeline for the upcoming China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.  “We have initiated regular consultative meetings with all the stakeholders including elected representatives, line departments, lawyers, journalists, traders and general public in the last six months to overcome different problems facing the city,” he added.