Protesters block Karakoram Highway, demand compensation of lands

GILGIT: Protesters demanding compensation for their lands affected by a dam project blocked the Karakoram Highway in Kohistan again, citing police ARY News reported on Wednesday.

“The protest to press for compensation of lands, affected by Diamer Bhasha dam project, will continue till the authorities’ recompense for our lands,” protest leaders said.

Several passengers from Rawalpindi and Gilgit Baltistan, have stranded owing to blockade of the Karakoram Highway.

Cars and other vehicles have gathered in Gilgit Baltistan and areas adjacent to Rawalpindi in long queues.

Protesters have, however, promised to allow ambulances and emergency vehicles to pass the road.

The government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for the dam project, which is around 90 per cent of the total required land, according to a report.

Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concrete-filled gravity dam, in the preliminary stages of construction, on the River Indus between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan.