A FEW days ago, some of the retired naval officers, along with their families, undertook a day’s trip by road to Landikotal and beyond right up to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

I remember as a young boy I had visited the place along with my parents in the early 1960s. I hoped that this time around things would be different and better. During our last trip, we had taken a train from Rawalpindi to Landikotal and back.

The road network leading up to the border is in a good condition, but the railway line is in a shambles. You would notice the railway line in a poor shape all along the route. The tunnels through which the journey continues have at some places been converted into residential areas by nomads.

Over a period of time, there should have been an improvement in the communication network rather than ignoring one at the cost of another project. Our local guide also showed us some portions of the Durand Line where the government has recently erected about 1,000 kilometres of barbed wire to prevent smuggling to and from across the borders.

There is no doubt that we are blessed with some of the most beautiful picturesque areas in the world. The provincial government needs to take steps to improve the general outlook of the area, especially the litter lying around the roads and the hills needs to be taken care of systematically.

This will attract more tourists to this mesmerising, rugged and barren terrain leading up to the Torkham border.

Cdre (retd) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2021