People of Chitra had long been demanding for construction of Lowari Tunnel to have an un-interrupted constant contact with rest of the country during 6 months snow fall when people of this area remain disconnected from rest of the country. Construction of Lowari tunnel had always been been on top of list of election promises of native policians of this area of course to forget the same after elections. Government of course prepared plans for the tunnel but project has not been fully completed as due to high rigged area and technical difficulty per metre cost involved had been too high and required huge funds. Now similar demands for tunnels are being raised form similar other areas like for Malakand tunnel etc.
23 March 2004 newspapers carried a news item that during the recent operation by Pakistani authorities to clear the area from alleged terrorists a 2 kilometre long secret tunnel near Afghan border was discovered through which an alleged important Al Qaeda link might have slipped aways. The area in question is high mountained where digging even on surface there is difficult let alone underground. A 2-kilometre long tunnel to me as a layman can not be made “secretly” in that area without huge extraordinary colossal funds, modernised miniature digital technologies, cranes, large scale manpower etc. I wonder why people of chitral do not get technical know how and expertise from those who so easily allegedly dug such a long tunnel.