LANDI KOTAL, March 24: The main Bara Road, connecting most parts of Bara subdivision in Khyber Agency with Peshawar district, was reopened partially on Sunday for general public after three and a half years.

The road was reopened after a series of negotiations between security officials and volunteers of Khidmat-i-Khalq Committee, a local welfare organisation comprising young local school teachers, students and political workers from different political parties.

Khan Wali, a spokesperson for Khidmat-i-Khalq Committee told Dawn that security officials agreed to keep Bara Road open for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening to facilitate the residents of Sipah, Malikdinkhel, Shalobar, Kamarkhel and Zaodin Zakhakhel to travel on it. The road, starting from Bara Qadeem in the vicinity of Peshawar district, passes through main Bara Bazaar, Al-Haj Market, Dogra-Alamgudar, Nala Malikdinkhel, Fort Salop and reaching Tirah valley via Baz Garha and Sheen Qamar areas, was closed by security forces in Sept 2009 when a military operation was launched against militant groups in Bara.

The residents of Bara had long been demanding reopening of the road. Accordign to a verbal agreement, reached between security officials and Khedmat-i-Khalq Committee, details of all the vehicles plying on the road would be provided to security forces in advance. The vehicles, which are not notified to security forces, will not be allowed to travel on the road.

Mr Wali said that they had also requested the local commanders of banned militant outfit Lashkar-i-Islam to cooperate in ensuring security of the road. He said that security forces also agreed to reopen the road on permanent basis provided local people guaranteed its security.

Security forces also agreed to establish additional checkposts on the road to keep a strict vigil on the movement of suspects in the area.

Former MNA from Bara Haji Mohammad Shah led a small vehicular procession up to Dogra to announce reopening of Bara Road.

Talking to Dawn, he said that he was overexcited to travel to his native tehsil of Bara after six years. He along with his family members moved out of Bara in 2006 and settled in Lahore after receiving threatening letters from local militant groups.

Mr Shah distributed sweets among the people gathered at Bara Bazaar.

Political Tehsildar Arshad Khan, when contacted, said that he was neither aware about the reopening of the road nor was he a party to the negotiations between the security forces and Khedmat-i-Khalq Committee.

Assistant Political Agent Mohammad Nasir did not respond to a number of telephone calls and text messages sent by this scribe.