No public transport on KKH until Muharram 13 after Gilgit violence

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan authorities have suspended inter-provincial public transport from the region to Rawalpindi and Islamabad via the Karakoram Highway (KKH) over security concerns until the 13th of Muharram.

“In wake of recent law and order situation and to avoid any untoward incident, the competent authority has directed to suspend the inter-provincial public transport,” reads a notification.

The orders cover buses, rental cars and other public transport.

It is the Gilgit commissioner who issued the directives to the deputy commissioners of respective districts.

However, the notification clarified that light transport (rent-a-car, coaster, Hiace and others) operating via the Babusar-Naran Highway may continue on a need basis.

These security measures follow Friday’s violent clashes during a Muharram 8 procession in Gilgit’s Chamugarh area that resulted in one fatality and left several others injured.

Meanwhile, the killed person was a resident of Harban, Kohistan, of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who in currently lived in Gilgit.

It is pertinent to mention that sectarian tensions in the region have previously spilled over to the KKH with deadly consequences. In February 2012, armed men disguised in military uniforms stopped buses and killed 18 passengers after checking their identity cards.

Similar incidents occurred in April and August of the same year, when several passengers were killed in a similar fashion.

Meanwhile, suspension of transport service has created massive traffic congestion along the Babusar-Naran Highway, with reports of kilometer-long vehicle queues forming since the KKH closure.

Transporters in Chilas have reported severe operational challenges as traffic flow remains disrupted along the alternate route, leaving hundreds of passengers and tourists stranded under difficult conditions.