RAWALPINDI: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has claimed that Thall-Parachinar road has been made safe for all types of traffic.

In a statement it said that security forces would never allow terrorists and their sympathisers to use the road and rejected a perception that it was under the control of local Taliban.

But Sajid Hussain Turi, an MNA from Kurram Agency, told Dawn that the road was still unsafe for traffic, adding that passengers could use the road only when travelling in convoys and security personnel escorted them.

“Our tribal people cannot even dare travel on Thall-Parachinar road. They are being given false assurances about the safety of the road. Recently, six tribesmen were kidnapped by the Taliban while travelling on this road,” he said.

Mr Turi said that people were still negotiating with various tribal groups for making the road secure.

The ISPR issued the statement in response to a report that said local commanders of the Haqqani group and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan were negotiating with Kurram elders and that the road would be reopened on the condition that Turi tribes would not hinder the movement of militants on it.