MANSEHRA: Traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan couldn’t be restored for the second day on Sunday as the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad (MNJ) Road remained blocked by a massive landslide in the Hassa area of Balakot.

Light traffic bound for Kaghan Valley and GB was diverted through the Hassa suspension bridge following the Saturday’s landslide, while heavy vehicles were rerouted via Garhi Habibullah to bypass the blocked section.

“We were expecting the massive landslide, which brought down giant boulders and rocks onto the MNJ Road, to be cleared by Saturday night, but repeated sliding has hampered our efforts,” Balakot assistant commissioner Nadar Khan told reporters.

He said National Highway Authority machinery was working continuously to remove boulders and clear the artery.

“If the recurring landslides stop, we are optimistic this vital link road between KP and GB will be reopened tonight (Sunday night),” Mr Khan added.

However, he warned that if engineers deemed the site still unstable, traffic would remain suspended until an embankment was built, as rocks continued to fall into the Kunhar River along the MNJ Road.

Meanwhile, the Baffa-Pakhal tehsil municipal administration cleared link roads in the Siren Valley that were blocked by floods triggered by recent torrential rains.

“In pursuance of the provincial government’s orders, we deployed machinery and reopened all arteries blocked by landslides,” tehsil municipal officer Mazhar Muzaffar Awan said, adding that with the reopening of roads, relief and rescue operations had been expedited and vehicles carrying relief goods were reaching the flood-hit villages.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025