KOHAT: The railcar service between Kohat and Rawalpindi, which was suspended in May 2013, will resume in May 2017, according to a statement issued here by PML-N provincial joint secretary Mian Shah Raza.

Mr Raza said in the statement that during a meeting Federal Railway Minister Saad Rafique told him that the repair work on the Kohat-Rawalpindi track had been started and after its completion the service would be resumed.

It may be recalled that people here had been staging peaceful protests at the Kohat railway station on every Friday since 2013, demanding resumption of the rail service.

On the request of the notables, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave approval to resumption of the service during his recent visit to Kohat.

Meanwhile, the social and political circles here expressed concern over the passage of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities silently without holding of walks or seminars by different organisations.

They said that there were 4,000 handicapped people registered with the social welfare department which along with NGOs received millions of rupees in funds annually. They regretted that a large number of remaining special people had not been registered to benefit from the rehabilitation and welfare funds.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2016