April 7, 2026
Muhammad Junaid
LAHORE
Traffic on the Karakoram Highway (KKH) remained paralysed at several points in Diamer for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, as people affected by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam blocked the road, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and disrupting movement between Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of the country, officials and protest organisers said.
The blockade marked an escalation in a sit-in that has entered its sixth day, led by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Land-Affected Committee under the banner of the “Huqooq Do, Dam Banao” (build dam, give us rights) movement. Protesters have been gathered in Chilas and adjoining areas, demanding implementation of an agreement reached with the federal government last year.
According to organisers, convoys from different parts of Diamer, including Chilas, Goner Farm and Goharabad, were stopped by police and security personnel from proceeding to the main protest site in Thore valley.
In response, demonstrators blocked the KKH at multiple locations, causing long queues of vehicles and stranding commuters for hours. The Karakoram Highway is a vital route linking Gilgit-Baltistan with other parts of the country, and its closure led to severe disruption.
Protesters warn of further escalation
Addressing the sit-in, protest leaders warned that if participants continued to be prevented from assembling and their demands were not accepted, they would expand the protest and march towards the dam construction site.
They alleged that despite repeated assurances, the authorities — including the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) — had failed to implement the terms of the agreement signed last year.
The protesters said the agreement had been reached in the presence of a committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with officials from Wapda and the Gilgit-Baltistan government. However, they claimed that not a single clause of the agreement had been implemented so far.
31-point charter of demands
At the centre of the protest is a 31-point charter of demands presented by the affected communities. These include compensation for thousands of acres of acquired land, financial packages for remaining affected families, and allocation of residential and commercial plots.
A key demand is the regularisation of local contingent and contractual employees working on the project, along with provision of jobs to residents of the area.
The protesters have also called for royalty from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and the Dasu hydropower project to be granted to Gilgit-Baltistan, free electricity for Diamer district, and subsidised power for other parts of the region. Improved healthcare, education and infrastructure also form part of the demands.
Background: A long-standing dispute
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam, a major hydropower project on the Indus River, has long been a source of tension due to disputes over land acquisition, compensation and resettlement.
In February last year, the federal government constituted a committee to address the grievances of the dam-affected people following similar protests in Chilas. However, protesters say progress on the agreed points has remained negligible, leading to the current phase of demonstrations.
No breakthrough in negotiations had been reported till the filing of this report, while the protesters vowed to continue their sit-in until their demands were met, insisting that development projects should not come at the expense of local communities’ rights.