Dam protest paralyses Karakoram Highway

• Hundreds of passengers, including tourists and patients, stranded
• Talks with administration fail; protesters refuse to reopen road

GILGIT: A protest sit-in by people affected by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project continued on Monday, blocking the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and suspending land connectivity between Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of Pakistan, leaving hundreds of passengers — including tourists and patients — stranded, with long queues of vehicles stuck on both sides of the highway.

Protesters have been staging sit-ins in Chilas and Thore areas of Diamer for the past six days, demanding implementation of a 2025 agreement between the government and the dam-affected people, alleging that not a single clause has been enforced so far. The protest intensified on Sunday, when demonstrators blocked the KKH for all kinds of traffic. A sit-in was also staged in Chilas, the district headquarters, where the highway was blocked near Masjid Aqsa.

Officials of the GB caretaker government and the district administration held negotiations with representatives of the protesters to persuade them to reopen the highway, but the demonstrators refused and vowed to continue the sit-in until their demands are met.

The sit-in organisers said the protest would only be called off after full implementation of the 2025 agreement, warning that the movement would be widened if their demands continued to be ignored and claimed to have support from across the region.

In a statement issued on Monday, a spokesperson for the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said the authority was undertaking comprehensive measures not only for the construction of dam project but also for the socio-economic development of the local population under a well-defined and integrated strategy.

He said Wapda remained fully committed to implementing the 2025 agreement. Priority, he added, was being given to employing local youth on the project. The spokesperson emphasised that large-scale projects of this nature require time for approvals and execution, urging the public to cooperate and avoid creating obstacles. He warned that such disruptions could delay the project and add to the burden on the national exchequer.

He said that in order to address issues faced by the Diamer district administration and resolve the legitimate demands of the local population, Wapda Chairman retired Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed had earlier convened an immediate meeting of the Supreme Court’s Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Implementation Committee, where key decisions were taken. These recommendations have also been approved by the federal ministerial committee.

Under the 2025 agreement, scholarships have been awarded, schools and colleges established, and funds allocated for higher education. Several development projects have also been initiated.

The protesters’ 31-point charter of demands includes 80 per cent royalty from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and 30pc from the Dassu Dam for Gilgit-Baltistan, free electricity for Diamer district and subsidised power for the rest of GB, compensation for 18,000 acres acquired for the dam, and a financial package for the remaining 3,000 affected families. Other demands include allocation of commercial and residential plots, development projects in education, health and sewerage, employment of local people from grade one to 16, and regularisation of contingent and daily-wage workers.

In February last year, PM Shehbaz Sharif formed a seven-member committee to address the grievances of those affected by the project amid an earlier sit-in in Chilas.

Meanwhile, GB caretaker Information Minister Ghulam Abbas said the government was committed to protecting the rights of the dam-affected people. He said caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Yar Muhammad was fully aware of the sensitivity of the issue and was taking it up with the federal government.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2026