PoGB: Karakoram Highway blockade enters Day 2 as protesters demand elders’ release

Members of the Muttahida Kohistan Jirga are continuing their blockade of the Karakoram Highway (KKH), a critical route linking Rawalpindi to Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan.

The News International reported that the protest for the second day on Thursday is aimed at securing the release of an elder, Maulana Kareemdad, who was arrested the previous day under the Maintenance of Public Order, The News International reported.

Former MPA Maulana Dildar stated, “We ended the closure of the KKH overnight but have now closed it again to traffic till Maulana Kareemdad, one of the members of the jirga, is set free.”

Protesters from Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, and Kolai-Palas resumed their demonstration at 8 a.m. on Thursday in the Pattan area of Lower Kohistan, again blocking traffic along the Karakoram Highway. The jirga had temporarily paused the blockade from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Wednesday to allow stranded passengers to continue their journeys to other parts of the country and PoGB, reported The News International.

Dildar further emphasised, “We will not end our protest until the district administration releases a jirga member and former National Assembly candidate, Maulana Kareemdad, and settles all outstanding issues, including reconstruction of roads.”

He also stated that residents of Upper Kohistan would join the protest and block the KKH in their district. “We have decided to permit motorcars to pass through the blocked section one hour after Zuhr and one hour after Asr prayers,” said Maulana Dildar.

Deputy Commissioner Tariq Mehmood invited the jirga elders to meet with him, along with police and Wapda officials, for negotiations. However, the jirga refused and instead held its own meeting to decide their next steps, The News International reported.

In a significant move, the jirga increased its membership from 45 to 90, with each district now represented by 30 members. Earlier this week, police arrested Maulana Kareemdad and a contractor named Aurangzeb, transferring them to Haripur prison.