WANA: Military authorities have cut down the number of security checkposts and introduced a computerised checking system to ease congestion and ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic on the Wana-Gomal Zam Road in South Waziristan, an official said.

He said that the military authorities had brought down the number of security checkposts from 10 to two, introduced a computerised entry and exit system to facilitate the people commuting the 140-kilometre main highway linking South Waziristan’s regional headquarters with Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The decision to reduce the number of security checkposts had been taken in view of the improved security situation in the region, the official said.

It would cut down travel time from six to two hours, the official maintained.

These checkposts had been set up a few years ago in view of the volatile security environment prevailing in the tribal region, causing a lot of problems for the commuters.

The official said that while snap checking would continue, the whole system had been computerised to speed up checking and facilitate commuters.

The system provides for authentication of the vehicles’ owners and their antecedents, thus greatly helping in not only curbing crime but also ensuring safety of commuters, the official said.

He said that proper facilities had been provided at Tanai and Gardaí checkposts to verify documents, including computerised national identity cards of the commuters.