Context
Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaque Pervez Kiyani launched a road construction project on Thursday that will serve as a key trade route between the country’s lawless tribal areas and Afghanistan, according to military sources. The 80-mile road from the town of Bannu in northwest Pakistan to Ghulam Khan on the border with Afghanistan will cost Rs.4 billion ($48 million), said a statement from the military, adding that the aim was to bring about social development in the tribal areas. The project will be finished in one-and-a-half years, connecting remote regions of North Waziristan with other parts of the country.
