MANSEHRA: Traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan resumed on Monday after the Frontier Works Organisation opened a steel bridge on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road in Mahandri area.

“Our government in the centre took the suspension of traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan seriously and moved heavy machinery here for the early installation of a steel bridge,” Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Sardar Mohammad Yusuf told the bridge inauguration ceremony.

Retired captain Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, was also in attendance.

The MNA said locals and tourists got stranded in Manor and Khan valleys after the July 30 flash floods and faced hardships.

He said flood victims, who suffered losses in the calamity, awaited compensation.

Mr Yusuf demanded that the district administration immediately complete damage assessment and compensate families and traders.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would visit the area soon.

“I have also taken up the bad condition of the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road with the prime minister, who promised more funds for its repairs,” he said.

Mr Safdar said the federal government was working sincerely to address the people’s issues.

“The reopening of this artery will ease the misery of tourists, who were stranded in the Manor and Kaghan valleys,” he said.

Meanwhile, the artificial lake, which was created in the Kunhar River in the Mahandri area due to the July 30 flash floods, continued to recede.

FINED: Drug inspector Mohammad Ashfaqon Monday fined many medical stores for selling spurious and expired medicines and sealed diagnostic labs for illegal operation in Lower Kohistan district on Monday.

The action came from him during a surprise visit to Kamila, Dasu and adjoining bazaars.

The official also warned the stores would be sealed if they were found involved in illegal practices again.

He told reporters that the crackdown on expired and spurious drugs and illegal labs would continue across the district.

Mr Ashfaq said that he had warned chemists to ensure the sale of quality medicines without expiry otherwise they would face strict legal action. “I would also appeal to people to inform us in case chemists have been selling spurious drugs anywhere in the district,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024