Tehsil Municipal Administration Takes Over Mansehra Central Bus Terminal
Authorities reclaim the biggest bus stand in Hazara after decades of union control; pre-dawn arrests prevent resistance, operation goes peacefully.
Abdul Raheem Qaisar
Fresh action hit Mansehra on Saturday when the Tehsil Municipal Administration moved in with heavy police backup and took full control of the central bus terminal, the largest and busiest in the entire Hazara region. Dozens of Hazara Transport Union members were arrested beforehand, and by the end of the day, TMA officials had their own staff handling ticketing, booking and hawking with no major trouble reported.
“We arrested scores of transporters before initiating the operation to take back control of the central bus terminal after decades,” a police official told the reporter of the Dawn news.
According to police and local officials, the operation started with pre-dawn raids across the district where scores of union office-bearers were picked up and shifted to undisclosed spots to stop any backlash. Later, a large police force stormed the main bus terminal. TMA teams quickly took possession and deployed their people on the ground.
Union members had been running things themselves for years, collecting fees and managing routes in ways officials called illegal. Some reports also mentioned gas supply issues to CNG stations in the area, though the company blamed it on a technical fault. Passengers saw little disruption on the day itself, but transporters are clearly unhappy with the sudden shift.
This is not the first time such a clash has played out in Hazara. Back in late 2025, when the TMA in Abbottabad took over its own bus terminal, the Hazara Transport Union called a wheel-jam strike that left hundreds of passengers stuck at Mansehra and other stands for days. Similar tensions have simmered for decades as unions treated these terminals like their own turf while local administrations complained about lost revenue and poor regulation.
For now, officials are calling it a smooth success after decades of private control, but everyone is watching to see whether peace holds or the roads go quiet again soon.
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