KOHAT: Thousands of commuters remained stuck in a traffic snarl-up on a 22-kilometre stretch of a hilly road due to closure of the Pakistan-Japan Friendship Tunnel for the third consecutive day here on Friday.

The provincial government has reportedly blocked the tunnel in a bid to thwart the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement’s activists coming from the southern districts to reach Khyber to participate in a jirga.

Locals said that the vehicles were moving at snail’s space, and a vehicle took at least four hours to cross the hilly track between Kohat and Darra Adamkhel tribal subdivision.

Allah Dad, a goods transporter, told Dawn that there were no traffic police officials on the hilly route to guide the drives and help in opening the artery.

Meanwhile, volunteers distributed food items among the stranded motorists.

VISIT: Kohat division commissioner Syed Motasim Billah Shah on Friday paid a surprise visit to schools and different government offices in Hangu and found 25 senior officials and administrative secretaries to district heads of departments absent from duty. He ordered the heads of relevant departments to conduct an inquiry and award them stern punishments for drawing huge salaries without doing work.

The delinquent officials included an assistant director of local government department, a sub-divisional officer, a sub-engineer and accounts officer of the irrigation department, district zakat head along with his staff, district planning officer with his subordinate staff, and teachers of a primary and a middle school in Lakhti Banda area.

Later, during a meeting, the divisional commissioner issued a strict warning that district heads of departments would face legal action if any official under them skipped duty.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024