BAJAUR: Residents of Enzari area in Khar tehsil here on Thursday staged a demonstration against the prolonged delay in the construction of the Enzari-Ambar Road and vowed to continue protest until authorities promised early resumption and completion of work.
The protest, attended by scores of people, especially elders and youth, lasted throughout the day.
The protesters said the Enzari-Ambar Road project, spanning several kilometres and aimed at connecting several rural areas of Khar tehsil the rest of the district, was launched in 2019.
They complained that work on the project, which was also meant to connect several hilly areas of Khar tehsil to scores localities of the neighbouring Mohmand district, was set to complete in June 2023.
The protesters said that the suspension of work on the road caused misery to residents.
“We don’t know the cause of the suspension of road work for the last five years but consider the provincial government responsible for the delay as the scheme was launched by it,” a protester said.
He also lashed out at local lawmakers for not taking notice of the issue and said it was their responsibility to take up the matter with authorities for early action.
The demonstration, which later turned into a sit-in, was joined by JI local chief Sahibzada Haroon Rashid and party workers.
Mr Rashid said his party stood with demonstrators over their demand for early road construction.
He said he would bring the issue to the notice of the local administration.
The protesters demanded early completion of work and warned they would continue their sit-in until authorities formally gave them its assurance.
Meanwhile, Abdul Wajid, personal secretary to ANP local MPA Mohammad Nisar Khan, told Dawn that the project had been delayed since its inauguration in 2019.
He said the scheme, launched under the federal government’s Accelerated Implementation Programme and to be completed in 2023, had been delayed due to lack of funds.
Mr Wajid claimed that MPA Nisar Khan was striving for the early resumption of work on the project and had written a letter to the secretary of the roads and highways department for early launch of work on the project.
Also in the day, people of Thangi and its adjacent areas of Salarzai and Khar tehsils blocked the main Khar-Munda Road to protest the closure of Thangi-Yousafabad Bypass Road for the last two days, citing security reasons.
The protesters, who gathered at Thangi-Yousafabad Chowk on the Khar-Munda Road, alleged that the Yousafabad-Thangi Road had been closed to traffic for the last two days by authorities.
Calling the act totally unjustified and great injustice with residents of the region, the demonstrators demanded its reopening immediately.
The protesters, who had blocked the Khar-Munda Road to traffic for a while, agreed to disperse peacefully after successful talks between their leaders and a team of police officials, led by DSP Sohail Khan and SHO Khar police station Sher Zamin.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2026
