Taking notice of the closure of Lawari Tunnel, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar Thursday called report from Secretary Communications, Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) and Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in five days.
The notice was taken on an application of residents of Chitral that the tunnel has been completed but still, it remains shut for most of the time and opened for few hours that not only causes traffic jam but also creates troubles for locals.
The work on Lowari Tunnel project was initially started during the tenure of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in September 1975, but one year later it was abandoned due to paucity of funds. The project was consigned to cold storage till 2005 when then president Pervez Musharraf restarted work on it. The work continued till 2009, but was again stopped due to funds shortage.
During the regime of PML-N the work was resumed in 2014 and on July 2017 former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had inaugurated the tunnel. However, still the miseries of the people of Chitral, particularly tourists, have not ended as they have to wait for hours on both sides of the tunnel before being allowed the passage.