BAJAUR: Residents of Salarzai tehsil on Friday protested against the prolonged delay in completion of Haji Lawang-Pashat Road.

The protesters blocked the BajaurMardan Highway by burning old tyres.

The demonstrators, mostly youth, political and social activists, pointed out that work on the widening of the 16-kilometre road was launched in 2021 by former provincial minister and PTI MPA Anwarzeb Khan, but it was yet to be completed. They lamented that the lawmaker had promised to complete the project by June 2022.

The protesters, who raised slogans against MPA Anwarzeb and the PTI provincial government, said the unfinished road had become a nuisance for residents, particularly those living along it.

Political activists, including PTPs Lugman Khan, ANP`s Sayed Sadiq Akbar, and PML-N`s Siraj Khan, said it was causing immense hardship to around 200,000 resi-dents of 11 village councils of Salarzai tehsil.

They said that instead of rehabilitation, the road had been turned into a patch of ditches, disrupting the only connectionbetween dozens of villages and rest of the district.

They asked the provincial government to order resumption of work on the project without delay.