PESHAWAR: The representatives of Bara Siasi Itehad, an alliance of political parties in Bara tehsil of Khyber tribal district, have expressed concerns over delay in reconstruction of Peshawar-Bara Road and threatened to launch a protest movement if work on the road is not resumed within 10 days.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, the political activists led by Shah Faisal Afridi said that reconstruction work on the road had been started six years ago but it was yet to be completed.

Flanked by Javed Afridi of PPP, Haji Shireen of ANP, Haji Zahir Shah Afridi of PML-N, Abdul Ghani Afridi of PTI and others, he said that funds for the road had been allocated during previous provincial government of PTI.

“Unfortunately the funds were shifted from the road to somewhere else but former MPA Engineer Faheem through a court petition managed to get back funds for the purpose but work could not be completed so far,” he said.

Shah Faisal Afridi, who also belongs to Jamaat-i-Islami, said that Governor Haji Ghulam Ali also inaugurated work on the road but the contractor did not start the process so far for unknown reasons.

“We will start protest march from Bara to Peshawar and stage a sit-in till resumption of work on the road,” he said. He said that people including students and traders from most of the areas from both Peshawar and Khyber had to travel regularly in daily routine on the dusty road but the relevant officials were least bothered to take notice of their agonies. The road, he said, had tuned into ruins. “We have appealed to provincial government time and again but to no avail,” Mr Afridi said.

He said that people were worried about the dust rising from the road. He said that the potholed road also caused damage to vehicles, inflicting losses on transporters and motorists. He said that workers of all political parties of Bara and Peshawar would raise their voices at every forum for reconstruction of the road.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2023