MANSEHRA: The Lower Kohistan police have increased deployment of personnel along the Karakoram Highway to provide foolproof security to passengers, particularly foreigners, travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“You have to be vigilant and ensure the security of Chinese engineers and passengers travelling between KP and GB via the Karakoram Highway,” district police officer Zafar Ahmad Khan told the participants of a meeting held in Pattan on Monday.

Superintendents of police, deputy superintendents, heads of the investigation branch, and station house officers were in attendance.

Mr Ahmad, who was recently posted to the district, said that energy projects of national importance were underway in Lower Kohistan. “The security of Chinese engineers and workers engaged in the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha hydropower projects is our top priority, and no negligence in this regard will be tolerated,” Mr Khan said.

He made it clear that no vehicle should be allowed to proceed to the neighbouring Upper Kohistan and onward to Gilgit-Baltistan without thorough checking.

The DPO said that people visiting police stations should be facilitated.

“We are also going to launch a ‘drug-free Kohistan’ campaign to protect people, particularly youngsters, from narcotics peddlers,” Mr Khan said.

The DPO also visited the police lines, where DSP headquarters Sajjad Khan briefed him on measures being taken to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and travellers on the KKH.

CNG STATIONS REOPEN: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) on Monday resumed gas supply to CNG stations across the Hazara division, according to a notification. “Gas supply to vehicles has been restored,” a CNG station operator told reporters. Earlier, he said supply to CNG stations was shut for six hours daily.

Meanwhile, stray dogs bit around a dozen people, including women and children, in different parts of the district on Monday.

The injured were taken to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where doctors administered the anti-rabies vaccine to them. The residents demanded that the district administration launch a drive against stray dogs.

“The situation may get worse in summer if the authorities don’t act now,” an affected person said.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2026