Pakistan: Demonstrators obstruct the Karakoram Highway and demand payment for the Diamer Bhasha Dam

NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, residents impacted by the Diamer Bhasha Dam in Gilgit-Baltistan stopped the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in opposition to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). According to The Dawn, they contend Wapda broke its pledge to reimburse them for giving up their property so the dam could be built.

Before leaving their houses, which were purchased for the Dasu hydropower project, the demonstrators were seeking the unpaid benefits to which they were legally due.

The Diamer Bhasha Dam action group then staged a sit-in protest, closing the KKH near the Gechi region of Chilas in the Diamer district of GB. Hundreds of cars were trapped on both sides of the road as a result of this activity.
Dawn reported that the demonstrators were blocking the road in order to seek compensation payments that they were still owed by Wapda, according to Diamer Deputy Commissioner (DC) Captain (retd) Muhammad Arif.

In his remarks, he alluded to talks with the protesters and promised to forward their message to the head of the Wapda and other pertinent authorities. The demonstrators did not consent to this agreement, even though the chairman’s visit was scheduled for the next week.
DC Arif went on to say that for a small period of time, the route was opened to enable trapped cars to get past the roadblock. Nevertheless, the demonstrators requested that the Wapda chairman meet them at the sit-in location, therefore the route was later stopped once again.
The leaders of the current sit-in, Atiullah and Muhammad Iqbal, have promised to continue traveling until their demands are met. They maintain that the impacted parties have been pleading for Chula payments for a long time, but Wapda and the authorities have not listened to them.
According to Dawn, the affected individuals are angry that the government has not paid the Chula payments that it promised to more over 800 families, despite their having made great sacrifices by ceding their properties.
Many commuters between Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad have been left stuck as a result of the protest. According to Muhammad Jamil, a traveler going to Hunza, Gilgit, their families and kids were stranded on the road for six hours. The route had to be blocked once again, so the demonstrators’ trip could only be temporarily resumed once they had cleared it.