Justice Nisar takes notice of Lowari tunnel closure
ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of the closure of Lowari Tunnel, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday called a report from Secretary Communications, Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) and Chief Secretary Khyber Pukhtunkhwa in five days, ChitralToday has learnt.
The notice was taken on an application of residents of Chitral that the tunnel had been completed but still remained shut for most of the time and opened for few hours that not only caused traffic jams but also created troubles for the commuters.
Work on Lowari Tunnel was initially started during the tenure of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Sept 1975 but one year later it was abandoned due to paucity of funds.
The project was consigned to cold storage till 2005 when the then president Pervez Musharraf restarted work on it. The work continued till 2009 but was again stopped due to funds shortage.
During the government of the PML-N, the work was resumed in 2014 and on July 2017 former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the tunnel.
However, still the miseries of the people of Chitral have not ended as they have to wait for hours on both sides of the tunnel before being allowed the passage.
As the authorities concerned did not take any steps to resolve the issue, the residents approached the chief justice of Pakistan. Justice Nisar is currently on a private visit to Chitral.
Please request Chief Justice saheb to make public the report given to him and let ChitralToday [ plus other who want ] to publish it verbatim. Let the public give feedback. That will make the task of CJP easy as well keep the NHA and others from taking liberty with facts.
It is one of the most serious issues the Chitral people have been facing since long. The honorable CJP’s visit to Chitral is considered to be a blessing so long awaited. The civil society representatives who have approached the CJ with the Lowari tunnel issue may’ please, apprise the honorable guest about the corruption story on the Buni_ Mastuj_ Shandur Road, as well.
Prima facie a good step. However most likely outcome of this appeal and ensuing directions by the CJ would be a sham report submitted by NHA giving flimsy excuses to deny full benefits of the tunnel to travelers. The matter will rest there and NHA will have it’s way as it has always had.
Great also please request CJ through this platform to please take action on Mastuj shandur road.
Syed Manzoor Shah.
A much needed action. Well done! Whoever has approached is a real benefactor of Chitral. This action taken by the CJ should firmly be pursued on the day the report from the mentioned quarters/the officers is presented so that they may not mislead the honorable Justice through a self conceited and fabricated report. The other burning issue is the increased in PIA fares and the curtailed flight operations to Chitral from 21 in a week to 2 please.
Bashir Ahmad.