DERA GHAZI KHAN: The decades-old convoy system on the Highway has been abolished by establishing seven checkpoints and two check posts along side Indus highway.

On the border of Punjab and Sindh, the Indus highway is a very sensitive area due to the Katcha /riverine area on the east side and the vast range of Sulaiman range on the west side.

For the safe travel of the commuters in this area, the vehicles had been escorted in the form of convoys by the police to prevent any kind of incident for the last several decades.

On the special orders of the RPO, as many as seven checkpoints and two check posts, have been established in the 30-km area of the Indus highway in Rujhan Mazari tehsil, Rajanpur, on the Punjab-Sindh border. Police personnel equipped with helmets, jackets and modern weapons are on duty at each front.

As many as five Elite Force vehicles are patrolling the Indus Highway for complete surveillance. Between each of the two points, an Elite Force vehicle patrols continuously.

An armoured vehicle is also constantly present in the area to deal with any emergency. Apart from this, the station house officer of a police station of the circle along with the SDPO, the local SHOs are also present on the Indus highway during night hours and continuously monitor the security measures.

Thanks to all these measures, a driver says, the convoy system has now been abolished on the Punjab-Sindh border. “Now the flow of traffic on the Indus highway continues uninterrupted day and night,” he says.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024