MANSEHRA: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yusuf on Sunday said that work on the all-weather Mansehra-Chilas Motorway, which will pass through Kaghan Valley, would soon be launched.

“This artery will be completed within two years and will significantly cut the travel time between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan,” Mr Yusuf told reporters.

The federal minister said the motorway, aimed at boosting tourism and rapid connectivity between KP and GB, was made possible because of the personal interest of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Haleem Khan.

“This artery will not only boost economic and tourism activities within the country but also boost trade with China,” Mr Yusuf said.

Yousuf says artery will help boost economic, tourism activities in region

He said the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, the only artery connecting KP with GB, remains closed for almost half of the year owing to snowfall from Naran to Babusar Top.

“This four-lane motorway will also shift the traffic burden from the Karakoram Highway, making travel more convenient and speedy,” he added.

He said the motorway would bring significant momentum to the tourism industry in both KP and GB. “We want to launch winter tourism in Kaghan Valley through this motorway as the MNJ Road remains closed in winter due to snowfall,” Mr Yusuf said.

He said the country needed such mega projects to bring socioeconomic change to people’s lives, and that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government was pursuing this agenda in letter and spirit.

SCHOOLS REHABILITATED: As many as 33 government schools destroyed in the deadly 2005 earthquake and left incomplete by the now defunct Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority have now been completed in Oghi tehsil.

“We have completed reconstruction of 33 primary, middle and high schools through provincial government funds, and classes will soon begin,” District Development Advisory Committee chairman Akramulla Ghazi said.

Erra had excluded hundreds of earthquake-hit schools from its reconstruction strategy, affecting the education of boys and girls across the Hazara division.

“The provincial government released funds for the reconstruction of these 33 schools in Oghi, and students will shortly be shifted to these buildings,” Mr Ghazi said.

The MPA said Rs87 million had been released for the repair of Shergar-Oghi-Mansehra and College roads.

“Due to the dilapidated condition of these arteries, people were suffering greatly,” he added.

He said the Manchora Dam Road would be re-carpeted as civic agencies had declared the recently completed work substandard.

“People should monitor development schemes in their areas. If contractors are found using substandard material, the matter should be brought into the notice of the relevant quarters,” Mr Ghazi said.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2025