Diamer-Bhasha dam protesters block Karakoram Highway in Diamer

GILGIT: A protest by people affected by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project intensified on Sunday after demonstrators blocked the Karakoram Highway at several points in Diamer district and warned of a long march towards the dam construction site if their demands were not accepted.

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam land-affected committee has been staging sit-ins in Chilas and Thore for the last five days under the banner of the ‘Huqooq Do, Dam Banao’ movement. The protest was launched over what organisers described as the government’s failure to implement an agreement reached with the protesters last year.

Organisers had called for a large protest in Thore valley on Sunday. They alleged that residents from Chilas, Goner Farm, Goharabad and other parts of Diamer began moving towards Thore to join the demonstration, but police and security personnel blocked the Karakoram Highway in the Ghichi and Hudor areas to stop them from reaching the site.

Protesters also came onto the road and shut the highway at different locations. A large number of demonstrators then held a sit-in in Thore valley. The blockade left thousands of passengers travelling between Gilgit-Baltistan and other parts of the country stranded, while long lines of vehicles formed on the highway. Commuters faced serious difficulties because of the closures.

Addressing the gathering in Thore, committee chief organiser Maulana Hazratullah said, “If our convoys from other areas are not allowed to reach Thore immediately, we will be forced to move towards the dam site and Thore colony.” He blamed officials of the Water and Power Development Authority for the situation and said they were the main obstacle to implementing the agreement reached between the government and the protesters.

The confrontation between protesters and police heightened tension in the area. Demonstrators said the sit-in would continue until their demands were fulfilled. They said that in the presence of people affected by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project and members of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s committee, officials of Wapda and the Gilgit-Baltistan government had signed an agreement in 2025 to resolve the issues. However, they said that more than a year later, none of its clauses had been put into effect.

The protesters accused Wapda of not meeting what they described as a basic demand: the regularisation of local contingent and contractual workers. Addressing the demonstrators, Maulana Hazratullah said Wapda had “challenged the honour of the people and scholars of the area” by violating the 2025 agreement. He added, “The entire Diamer is standing behind us… there is no way back now.”

The committee demanded immediate implementation of all clauses of the 31-point agreement and the regularisation of local temporary Wapda employees. It warned that if the demands were not accepted, the next step would be a “long march towards the dam site”.

The 31-point charter includes demands for 80 per cent royalty from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and 30pc royalty from the Dassu Dam for Gilgit-Baltistan, free electricity for Diamer district and discounted electricity for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, compensation for 18,000 acres acquired for the project, and a financial package for the remaining 3,000 affected families.

Other demands include commercial and residential plots, education, health and sewerage projects, employment for local people on the dam project from grade one to grade 16, and the regularisation of contingent and daily wage workers.

In February last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a seven-member committee to address the grievances of those affected by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project amid an ongoing sit-in in Chilas, the district headquarters of Diamer. The committee was headed by the minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and Safron, while the minister for water resources served as co-chair. Its other members included the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister and chief secretary, the secretary for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and Safron, and the Wapda chairman.