November 3, 2001	Saturday	Shaba’an 16, 1422

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MANSEHRA, Nov 2: The ulema of NWFP and Northern Areas on Thursday announced an immediate lifting of the siege of the airstrip of the abandoned airport of Chilas and also agreed to lift the blockades along the Karakuram Highway in the Northern Areas, Dawn learnt.

According to sources, an important jirga was held between the ulema led by Mufti Nizamuddin Shamazai, and the five-member Legislative Council of Northern Areas in Chilas. The jirga was also attended by the SSPs of Kohistan and Chilas and local tribesmen.

The ulema agreed to lifting the blockades in the Northern Areas immediately and asked their armed men to come down from the hilltops along the Silk Route.

The deputy chief executive of Northern Areas, Haji Fida Mohammad Noshad, while talking to Dawn on telephone from Gilgit, thanked the ulema and hoped that the tribesmen and workers of religious parties would not block the road in future.

He said that a 233 kilometre long strip of the road from Duber to Gunform would be open for vehicular traffic soon.

He said that the members of the NAs’ Legislative Council, including Jan Khaliq, Rehmat Khaliq, Amer Baz, Haji Shad Baig and Raja Jalaluddin, negotiated with the ulema and persuaded them to effect the opening of the international route.

Official sources said that a heavy rain, followed by thunderstorm, lashed Kohistan and other areas for the last 24 hours continuously. The rain might cause landslides on the KKH, they said, adding that so far no reports had been received in this regard.

The sources said that traffic had resumed on the road as the heavy boulders were removed.

The Malakand DIG, Tan-veerul Haq, told Dawn on telephone that vehicles had started plying on the road after the heavy rocks were removed from the KKH.