Living Hell of Chitral Residents-Story of Lowari Tunnel

Why Punjabi Establishment run by Racist Punjabi's who always thinks of Plans to Belittle and Make Pakhtunkhwa Backward and slave to Punjabi's ,  have delayed the Lowari Tunnel Project that was Approved in 1970,s but is still not completed and is Made to Stall Deliberatively , as its in Situated in Pakhtunkhwa and Connects the Mardan and Dir to Chitral and it cuts down Journey Time to Chitral from 14 Hours to 5 Hours only . 


Victims of Punjabi Racism who Wants to Punish Chitralis and Also Change the Route of Pakistan China Economic Route has Stalled the Lowari tunnel More Shorter then Gilgit , Abbottabad Route which is not in straight line with Kashghar and longer then the Gilgit , Chitral and Dir Mardan Route , which Amritsar Indian Born Ex- Sikhs Punjabi Nawaz Government had selected to Serve Lahore .
They Plan to delay this Tunnel to 2020 , from its Planned Completion in 2010 already Passed and Chitralis and Dir Residents are cut off and live in Hell , Read this Incredible Story of People of Pakhtunkhwa Pushed to Living hell by Prejudiced Punjabi's . 

Pakistan Lowari: Frozen travelers trapped by an unfinished tunnel

By M Ilyas Khan

Water dripping from the top of the crumbling, cave-like opening of an unfinished tunnel in northern Pakistan forms into icicles, accentuating the bite of a freezing January morning.

About a kilometre down the valley behind, a large huddle of passenger vans, trucks and cars waits for the tunnel to open. They have been here for many endless hours.

Bi Weekly Lowari Tunnel Traffic 

In one rented vehicle is the coffin and body of an old woman on way to her own funeral, but she is running late.

On the other side of the mountain, in her home village, people have already gathered for the burial.

Anxiety is writ large on the face of her son, Wali Ahmad, a soldier in the Pakistani army and a resident of Chitral district, located on the far side of the 8.6km (5.2-mile) Lowari tunnel.

Faces of  Ordeal 

Wali Ahmed worries that he might not get his mother's body to her own funeral on time

"My mother died in Peshawar. Now we have to take her home for burial. We don't know if they will open the tunnel in time for us to make it there in daylight," he says.

It's at least three hours' drive to his village of Golen from where he's standing. It's already approaching midday, and the towering mountains of the Hindu Kush range shut off the winter sunlight from most of Chitral's 34 branch valleys after 4pm.

At a little over 7,000 feet (2,500m) above sea level, the tunnel is the only exit route in winter for the 500,000 population of Chitral.

Dozens of loaded trucks are parked every few kilometres along the rocky, broken mountain road that winds up from the town of Dir to the tunnel.

Some drivers have lit gas cylinders beneath the engines to keep them warm and prevent the pipes from bursting due to freezing temperatures.

Mohammad Qasim Khan, a resident of Drosh area in Chitral, is the head of another party waiting for the tunnel to open.

"My daughter's just been operated for appendicitis, and my cousin got a rod fixed in his left leg which suffered a fracture," he says.

Faces of Misery 

In need of rest - but they are stuck in a car waiting for the chance to get through

"They can't stand the cold and the wait, but we are told the tunnel is closed. We drove some eight hours from a hospital in Peshawar, and now we've been stuck in this wilderness for more than six hours. There's no food or heating here, and there are no toilets."

It is the same story on the Chitral side of the tunnel - residents taking sick relatives to hospitals in Peshawar, students and job seekers trying to make it to their appointed interviews, and workers with jobs in the Gulf fretting over whether they'll be able to catch their flights from Peshawar and Islamabad.

All these people are caught in a gridlock that started when the government suddenly decided to reschedule work on the tunnel ahead of this winter.

The fortunes of the people of Chitral have fluctuated with the fortunes of the Lowari tunnel project.

Lowari Tunnel has been delayed for last 40 Years 

In summers, a road built by the British over the 10,230ft (3,140m) Lowari Pass links them to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Chitral is a part. But the pass closes in mid-December due to snow.

Two other passes - one connecting Chitral to the Afghan province of Badakhshan, and the other linking it to Pakistan's north-eastern Gilgit-Baltistan region - are more than 12,000 feet high and also remain snowbound in winters.

The region's only natural all-weather route passes through its south-western town of Arandu into Afghanistan, and follows a southward route via the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Ningarhar into Pakistan's Peshawar valley.

But that is no longer an option.

"The Arandu route closed when a Pakistani military operation in the Swat region in 2009 pushed Islamist militants into the Kunar region," says Shahzada Iftikharuddin, Chitral's representative in Pakistan's national parliament.

"This happened when the Americans wound up their bases in the Kunar region, making it possible for these militants to set up sanctuaries there. A number of Chitrali travellers were held and beheaded by them in 2010."

Chitral Scouts have helped maintain security along this perilous route

The tunnel was commissioned in late 2005, and by 2008 the construction contractor, Sambu JV of South Korea, had dug the 8.6km tunnel all the way through. But funding for the project stopped when a new government took over.

Over the next few years, this unfinished tunnel remained open for winter traffic.

In 2011, when some funds became available and work commenced, public use of the tunnel was restricted to three alternate days in a week. This catered to the needs of the locals and there was no crisis.

But after the first snow in late November this year, the commuters were shocked to discover that a new standard operating procedure (SOP) permitted three days of transit through the tunnel only every two weeks instead of one.

Hundreds of people were stranded in the snow. Those with money had to spend weeks in Dir town's hotel rooms. Others slept in their vehicles or turned back.

Commuters walk along the ridge to try and find out what the delay with the tunnel is

In Chitral, food supplies became scarce, sparking protests that finally forced the authorities to revise the SOP and open the tunnel twice a week - on Saturdays and Sundays - for six hours a day.

The authorities defend the new arrangement as the only viable balance between human suffering and project completion.

"The project cost has escalated from 5bn rupees to 18bn, and we have to pay penalties to the contractor for idle hours," says Hameed Hussain, the project director of Lowari tunnel.

Besides, six hours of public traffic pushes carbon levels inside the tunnel beyond human tolerance.

"We need an extra four to five hours to ventilate the tunnel before the workers can get to work safely," he says.

Inside of Unfinished Tunnels since 1978 

And there is still a lot of work to do.

At the moment, there is no proper lighting in the tunnel, no exhaust system and no emergency services.

Most of the tunnel is still without the shotcrete lining, retaining walls or a metalled road. Water seepage from the ceiling and walls forms into puddles on the floor.

In addition, the widening process leaves the tunnel floor strewn with debris, causing traffic jams inside the tunnel and endangering those travelling in open vehicles.

Mr Hussain says he recovered four persons from a truck that had broken down inside the tunnel last week. All of them had fainted.

But bound by towering mountains on all sides, the people of Chitral are just too desperate not to take a chance with this drive through hell.

Naila Shahid

Naila Shahid missed an interview for a job she was sure she would get because of the snows and the tunnel

And those who can't make it, rue it.

Naila Shahid is one of them.

A graduate in environmental sciences, she had to miss an interview for an assistant professor's job at a university in Dir district because that would mean living in a hotel room for a whole week - a social and financial impropriety.

"I was on top of the merit list. I received a call to appear for the interview. I knew I couldn't make it because the tunnel would have closed by the time I was finished and would next open only on the following Saturday," she says.

"There is no male member of the family available to accompany me for a week in a strange land. I cried last night. This job would have helped me enroll for a doctorate."

The new deadline for the tunnel's completion is 2017. Until then, every time the snows block the passes, many funerals are likely to be missed, many careers suffer setbacks and many tears are shed in Chitral.

Lowari Tunnel Traffic 

source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25972898

Massive Corruption Under PTI Government in Chitral Pakhtunkhwa No Progress in Development Projects.

Protests against corruption in different developmental projects continued in parts of Chitral. A sizeable protest rally led by Jounali Qazi Abdul Rauf marched from Chewo Bridge and ended up in Polo Ground. There it turned into a large public assemblage and representatives of civil society and political parties addressed the people.

Speakers said that Abdul Wali Khan Bypass was supposed to complete in 2011 and still remains incomplete. The contractor of the bypass, it turns out, is a government employee working as laboratory attendant in Government Degree College, upper Dir. As a contractor he is enjoying government support for dilly-dallying the work on the road and allegedly shares commissions with officials.
The speakers also pointed out that the bridge on Molin Goul stream near Chitral Scouts Headquarter, currently under construction, shows that it has been poorly built with substandard material. It poses threat and clearly indicates that it is not going to sustain any pressure of water or floods in summer.

They said that 340 million rupees were spent on Golian Water supply scheme.But here too, defective and cheap pipes were used in the project. People are still deprived of water. They alleged that the contractor paid huge commissions in this project to local PMA and Public Health Engineering high-ups. They demanded of the National Accountability Bureau to recover the 340 million rupees from the Public Health department corrupt officers and from the contractor.
They said that Goulian Hydel Power station would be completed next year and demanded 30 MW electricity from this project for Chitral as Chitral is passing through energy crises. They also demanded up-gradation of Saingor Power House.

A resolution was passed on the occasion where it demanded from Chairman and Director General NAB to investigate and recover the 340 million rupees of Goulain Goal project. 30 MW electricity from Goulian Hydel Power House should be allocated for Chitral and the bypass should be completed without any further delay.

source: http://www.dardistantimes.com/chitral/News/1763575980/corruption-developmental-projects-trigger-protests-chitral

World Legendary Hero,s are Zeros by Pakistanis if they are from Pakthunkhwa as Pashtuns

By Shaan Agha
Published Jun 13, 2014 06:18pm

Pashtuns Jehangir Khan only Sports man in History of World to Win 555 Matches consequently and so is Yunis Khan who Gave us World cup after Imran Khan another Pashtun Legend and Shabaz Khan a Great Legend and yet we are so Baised and make them Zeros .



L-R Cricketer Younis Khan, squash legend Jahangir Khan and hockey star Shahbaz Ahmed.



As I warmed my chair to watch the Roland Garros final, I was warned by my Rafa crazed wife that dinner would only be served if Rafael Nadal went on to win a record 9th French Open title in his 5th consecutive bid. No man in history has comparable success or has dominated a single surface as has the 'King of Clay'. Novak Djokovic too was gunning for a career Grand Slam.

The scoreline stood at one set a piece going into the third, but the body language of the two players suggested that there was now a clear favourite. Nadal was on his way to win his 14th Grand Slam, only three shy of Roger Federer’s record 17. Djokovic said that beating Rafa at the French Open was not just the most difficult thing to do in Tennis, but perhaps in the entire sporting world; Nadal now has a 66 -1 Win/Loss record in his 10 years at the Parisian Slam.

As my wife ecstatically celebrated, I too was happy to witness a feat that might survive the test of time, and I was also relieved that dinner would finally be laid. During our meal we discussed how Rafa’s dominance and his aura of invincibility on red dirt bore a stark resemblance to a Pakistani legend that graced the squash courts and ruled them for over a decade; we reminisced the era of Jahangir Khan.

From 1981 to 1986, Jahangir was unbeaten in all competitive play. He won 555 consecutive matches, the longest winning streak by any athlete in any top level professional sport. He won ten consecutive British Open (the Wimbledon equivalent) championships, remaining unbeaten at squash’s most prestigious tournament between 1982 and 1991. Jahangir was, and for many will always be, the undisputed 'King of Squash'.

Unfortunately, the air that Jahangir created in the world of squash did not translate into the national stardom one would have expected or hoped for. I personally grew up playing squash and tennis at a club in Karachi that Jahangir sometimes visited, but he was always found in the Billiard Room and never at the squash courts. I seldom saw people stopping and asking for autographs or taking pictures with the legend. I now realise, I don’t have them either, next time though, I will make sure I intrude his stride and get one of each.

This brings us to a grave question that desperately begs to be answered by the Pakistani public. Why did a man of Jahangir Khan’s stature receive such mellow national celebrity status and relatively less popularity than his achievements and accolades warranted?

One can reason that squash is not a big sport; the cash flow does not allow the glitter and in Pakistan, glamour, it seems, is reserved for its only one true sporting passion: cricket. While all of the above could provide rational to the lack of fame or fortune for great Pakistani sportsmen, the rabbit hole is a lot deeper.

For many years, Pakistan produced the most talented and skilled stock of hockey and squash players in the world, but the lack of larger than life heroes has meant a dearth of aspiring followers. Economic non-viability and shortage (or mishandling) of resources has deprived sports its fare share and halted its progress, but it is the absence of inspiration for the Pakistani youth that has jolted its foundation and become the core of the prevailing quagmire.

Posters of Jahangir and Jansher Khan, or Samiullah and Kalimullah are from bedroom walls of the past. An entire generation in Pakistan has grown up without idolising a star from the sports Pakistan once ruled, many kids of today have never picked up a hockey stick or a squash racquet in their life. While squash and hockey are on an extremely slippery downward curve, cricketers too have lost the fan fare they once enjoyed. Sadly, instead of glorifying the players, the administrators have contributed in decimating the stardom of its most important asset.

The most recent victim of reproach at the hands of the authorities was Younis Khan who was initially demoted to a “B” category contract by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a Test batting average of 51.92 and 23 hundreds, Younis ranks among the best batsmen the country has ever produced. He captained Pakistan in all forms of the game and led the team to a glorious World T20 championship. According to reliable sources, a disappointed and dejected Younis had decided not to sign the contract, even if it jeopardized his future with the Pakistani team.

Also read: Nadal – God must’ve had a plan

The legacy of Younis Khan goes beyond statistics and numbers. Not as talented as his peers Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf, he has been able to achieve as much, and even more on certain accounts. He was one of the few who maintained a clean slate in a team rife with corruption and politics. He belonged to a small group of Pakistani cricketers of his era that went without a blemish on their integrity or accusations of disrupting team spirit.

Younis should have become the corner stone for a generation of cricketers to follow, the symbol of hard work, honesty and perseverance. Instead of being decorated with badges and medals of honour, he was made to look like an old man trying to cling onto a cricket contract at the twilight of his career, and more embarrassingly his self esteem.

What message was the PCB giving out to young cricketers? Who would want to be the next Younis Khan, if he was portrayed as a struggling, unsatisfied man trying to fight for his basic rights?

The decision of Najam Sethi to reverse the atrocious call on Younis Khan’s contract was much needed and has been welcomed by the entire cricket fraternity. Most importantly, Sethi is putting in place a clause that will automatically award an "A" category contract to any player that has represented Pakistan in over 300 matches and captained in all three formats.

PCB for once has taken a step in the right direction. Organisations, institutions and countries work most efficiently when there are adequate functional systems in place, and not through the whimsical accord of the powers that control them at a given time. With this new clause in PCB’s contractual framework, the chances of such mistakes being repeated should diminish.

In a recent lash out at the Pakistani public who apparently misbehaved on social media, Wasim Akram said he had a job in India and could not come to Pakistan to sell “amrood” (Guava), clarifying that he was a patriotic Pakistani. It is a tragedy for Pakistan that someone who should have been a national treasure needs to come on TV and explain which side of the border his loyalties remain. It is the job of the entire country to develop and maintain a climate where stars understand their responsibilities and they receive public love and respect in return. But far too often in Pakistan, both fail to maintain that balance.

While Nadal was recently named as the adopted son of Madrid, the highest honour given by the city hall in the Spanish capital, the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) has sealed the newly-built Jahangir Khan Sports Complex on Kashmir Road in Karachi. For right or for wrong, the Pakistani legend is sadly an accused outlaw in his own country and the Spanish maestro is their most adored hero.

Dreadfully, the Pakistani hockey team has also failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in its history.

The Pakistani government, media, corporations, institutions, and the civil society have failed to build systems or create an environment that could have nurtured and popularised national heroes. In fact, these stakeholders often play a part in defaming, slandering and marginalising the country’s most prized possessions; the damage of which is far reaching and beyond mathematical calculation.

There are some things money can’t buy; national pride, the psyche of an entire country and inspiration that can alter social fabric. A hundred thousand rupees more or less on a cricket contract are of little significance because there is no price tag that can absorb the emotions of millions who aspire to adorn national colours.

Respect cannot be expected if one is not willing to offer any. And if Pakistan wants its sporting culture to regain its lost glory, the Green Blazer has to hold the reverence it inherently desires.
Published Dawn 13th June 2014 : http://www.dawn.com/news/1112518/not-our-heroes