ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday inaugurated the Sheikh Zayed road in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, built with funding from the United Arab Emirates Pakistan Assistance Program (UAE-PAP).

Mohmand is part of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a mountainous cluster of seven districts and six towns along the Afghan border that were merged into the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018. 

In the past two decades, the region became known as a haven for militant groups operating on both sides of the border with Afghanistan and tens of thousands died during a years-long campaign by the military to crush the militants. The area has also been neglected for years in terms of education, health and infrastructure development. 

“We will concentrate on the full development of these areas,” PM Khan said at a gathering after the inauguration of the road. “The project in Mohmand is a gift to the people of the region built in collaboration with the UAE government.”

He said the project would provide transportation, trade and employment opportunities to the people of Mohmand as well as give them easy access to the provincial capital Peshawar and other districts, the PM Office said in a statement. 

Abid Khan, an official with the communication and works department of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, said the Sheikh Zayed road was 40.69 km long and built at a cost of Rs3,705 million, entirely funded by the UAE. 

“[It] is one of the biggest development projects in the region,” he added. 

Sajid Khan, a legislator from Mohmand, said the road would reduce travel time by half and help enhance economic activities in the district. 

“Sheikh Zayed road is beneficial not only for Mohmand but people from Bajaur and Dir will also benefit from it,” he said, referring to two other districts in the former tribal areas. “This road has connected these three districts with each other.”

In the past decade, the UAE-PAP program has funded two new roads in South and North Waziristan and built 43 primary and secondary schools and 10 technical colleges and institutes in Swat, South Waziristan, Bajaur and Mohmand. It has also provided funds to set up, equip and maintain seven hospitals and clinics in Swat, South Waziristan and Bajaur.