CHITRAL: Residents of Upper and Lower Chitral districts have called off their sit-ins and hunger strikes across the region.

The move came after the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province, which suspended people’s fundamental rights, including the freedom of movement and assembly.

Demonstrators had blocked a number of arteries and staged sit-ins in Reshun, Booni and Torkhow in Upper Chitral and Garam Chashma in Lower Chitral to pressure authorities into addressing infrastructure, health, power and educational issues.

As soon as the emergency was declared in the province, the protesters voluntarily dismantled their camps and dispersed.

In Upper Chitral, the people of Torkhow and Terich valleys had staged a prolonged sit-in in Shagram, demanding speedy work on the long-delayed Buni-Buzund Road project.

They complained that work began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2011 but the asphalting work was still incomplete.

A leader of the Terich Torkhow Road Forum, which organised the protest, said the sit-in was called off to “respect the constitutional framework during this state of emergency”. He, however, said the peaceful struggle for rights would continue.

“We will now directly engage with the relevant officials to ensure early completion of work on the Buni-Buzund Road,” he said.

In Booni, a coalition of civil society organisations and political parties had initiated a “hunger strike till death” against the provincial government’s plan to outsource a Category-D hospital.

However, the imposition of governor’s rule prompted the organisers to call off the strike and form a committee to speak to the government to review the privatisation policy. In Reshun, too, a protest over energy pricing came to an end.

Residents had demonstrated for weeks, demanding that their electricity bills be adjusted to align with the official tariffs set by the energy department.

In Lower Chitral, Garam Chashma residents called off their protest against the National Highway Authority over slow asphalting of the Chitral-Garam Chashma Road. They dispersed peacefully following the imposition of emergency.

Local scholar Dr Inayatullah Faizi said the peaceful end to the widespread protests should be appreciated by the government as they showed commitment to constitutional supremacy and the greater national interest despite grievances.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2026