SHANGLA: The district police officer, Imran Khan, has said that they have deployed police personnel at hotels and bridges located along Karakoram Highway in Bisham to ensure safety of foreigners and local tourists.

He told journalists on Tuesday that after a proper assessment by the district head of security, Itbar Khan, and according to standard operating procedures (SOPs) set for Karakoram Highway, they deployed police personnel at major hotels and bridges.

The DPO said that in order to ensure safety and security of foreign and local tourists on Karakoram Highway, they deployed police within 36 kilometrrs in the limits of Shangla district from Dandai to Pandiar, the bordering area of Kohistan.

He said that police deployed at hotels and bridges had been guided about SOPs to keep them vigilant during the duty. He added that they were strictly instructed to perform duty vigilantly to avoid any untoward incident in the limits of Shangla.

The official said that they had also started profiling in the district, especially in Bisham tehsil along Karakoram Highway.

He added that search operations were carried out at sensitive places on daily basis.

He said that trained, well-informed and active police personnel had been deployed at the entry and exit points of the district after attack on Chinese on March 26 last month in Bisham that claimed six lives including five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver.

ROAD: The tehsil administration reopened Karora-Chakesar road on Tuesday that was blocked due to heavy landslide at Opal area on Sunday night.

Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Hamid Saddiqui said that rehabilitation work in Chakesar continued and both communication and works department and tehsil municipal administration were engaged in it.

He told journalists that the main Karora-Chakesar road was opened to all types of traffic on Tuesday. He said that debris of landslides were also being removed from other link roads while relief items were being distributed among the affected families.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2024