2017: Lowari Tunnel Inaugurated in Chitral

Khowari Report

On 20 July 2017, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif inaugurated Lowari Tunnel project. The 8.5 km long tunnel provides all weather resistant route, connecting Chitral to rest of the country. Construction of Lowari Tunnel has been a long standing demand of the people of the area which had been negated in the past.

While addressing the ceremony, the premier stated that although Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) did not win in this constituency but still ruling party is working here.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif offering dua after unveiling plaque of Lowari Tunnel at Dir Upper. Courtesy: Dawn

“This is the happiest moment in last four years of my government,” Nawaz stated.

The premier asserted his party will make Chitral equal to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. “Chitral was cut off with rest of Pakistan especially in winters but now this is not the case and traffic will remain intact throughout the year,” he said.

“This project was started in 1974 but we are the one who finished it.”

The tunnel has been completed at a cost of about twenty-five billion rupees. The travelling time of Peshawar has been reduced by 7 hours due to the construction of this tunnel. The tunnel is one of the longest tunnels in South Asia, and is the longest in Pakistan. It lies between Upper Dir and Chitral. Before the construction of the tunnel, Chitral used to cut off from rest of the rest of the country during the long and harsh winters before the tunnel.

Lowari Top (10,230 ft.), locally known as “Rawley”, has historically been a nightmare for the Chitralis. Thousands of passengers had died in the past while commuting to and from Chitral on Lowari mostly due to avalanches, Frostbites, Blizzards and later on, road accidents. The spiralling road consisting of some 49 turns was used to ascend & descend the elevated pass of the Hindukush. After the 1990s, Travelers used to travel into Kunar, Afghanistan and then back into Pakistan to access the rest of the country. In 1954, the Mehtar of Chitral His Highness Saifur Rehman was killed when his airplane crashed into Lowari Top.

Above: Pictures of MNA Ataliq Jafar Shah, who dreamt of a tunnel through Lowari for the first time.

The concept of a tunnel in Lowari was first presented by Ataliq Jafar Ali Shah in 1957 when he was member of the West Pakistan Assembly. In 1973, he tabled a resolution in the assmebly which was unanimously passed by the members. As a result, the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto started the work on the tunnel in 1975. The project was soon shut down due to lack of funds & then when Bhutto’s government was toppled by Gen Zia.

A newspaper clip reporting the a Chitrali youth organization demanding the construction of the tunnel in 2002

Above: Pictures of Lowari Top before the construction of the tunnel

The project was resumed in 2005 by General Parvez Musharaf as Rail tunnel but the concept was later altered to a road tunnel. The project was again shifted to cold storage when Gen. Musharaf stepped down. PPP government diverted the funds to Larkana & Multan.

PMLN’s Nawaz Sharif re-initiated the work on the project in 2013 and in 2017 the long standing demand of the Chitralis was finally fulfilled. The work on the project was completed by Pakistan’s NHA, & SAMBU, a South Korean construction company.

Posted on 4 June 2024