MANSEHRA, Jan 9: One person was killed and three others injured when a speeding pick-up loaded with smuggled timber collided with another pick-up in the Punjab Chowk on the Karakoram Highway early Sunday morning.
Traffic remained suspended for two hours on the highway as people blocked the road in protest. The pick-up, coming from the Tanawal area and the other pick-up, which was on its way to the Mansehra district headquarters hospital from Shahailia.
As a result, one Ayub, a resident of Shahailia, died on the spot and Rashid and Aurangzeb were injured. After the collision, the first pick-up rammed into a tree, injuring a passerby, Mohammad Asif.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the pick-up unloaded the smuggled timber in a nearby saw machine and made good his escape. Police sources were, however, declined to give details about the smuggled timber.
People of the locality got infuriated over the incident and blocked the highway in protest. They were chanting slogans against officials of the forest department and local police. The traffic on the highway was restored after two hours.
It may be mentioned here that ruthless cutting of trees in the forests of Tanawal area and timber smuggling have been on the rise for many years with the connivance of officials of the forest department and local police. Speedy vehicles of the timber smugglers have injured a number of people in the past, including the school children.
