May 8, 2005	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1426

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GILGIT, May 7: The police officials of the Northern Areas and Kohistan district have agreed to set up police checkpoints at troubled points along the Karakoram Highway (KKH) from Basham to Khunjerab Pass, police sources said. They said that during the meeting it was also decided to establish at least 10 check points between Gilgit and Khunjerab Pass and the sites for the checkpoints had been surveyed recently. The police officials said the portion of KKH that passed through Diamer and Kohistan needed effective communication means including wireless sets and vehicles to guard the KKH. The Northern Areas police chief Sarmad Saeed said that he would provide these facilities to make the journey safe on the highway where at least nine people were killed by the miscreants after Jan 8.

demand for pay raise: Around 52 lower-grade employees working at the Guru Power Project took out a procession on the Karakoram Highway on Saturday, demanding an increase in their wages.

They said that they had been working for eight years at monthly wages of Rs2,500 and were unable to make both ends meet. They demanded that the wages be increased to Rs3,500 per month.

They said that they not only worked at the powerhouse but also cleared roads and did other extra physical work on

the orders of the Public Works Department (PWD) officials.