Truckers demand opening of Chitral-Dir road

CHITRAL: The Truck Drivers Union of Chitral has asked the government to get the Dir-Chitral road opened, which is blockaded by truck drivers from Dir for four days.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the union president Sharifullah, vice-president Zahir Khan, general secretary Abdur Rehman and others said that the drivers of Dir had blocked the road at Daro Khore on the Dir side on the pretext that they were given lesser share in transportation of goods to and from Chitral.

The truck union leaders recalled that ten years ago drivers from Chitral and Dir clashed here and the consignments of Dir business centers were thrown into the river. But, they added the matter had been settled amicably and the drivers of both the districts got truckloads on equal basis.

They alleged that a local MPA of Upper Dir Anwar Khan, having business interests in Chitral was enticing the Dir drivers to block the road. They complained that the Dir police were doing nothing to open the road.

They feared that the residents of Chitral would face scarcity of daily use items if the road was not opened.

They gave a deadline of four days to the provincial government to solve the problem at the expiry of which they would resort to violent means.-Zahiruddin