LANDI KOTAL: The elders of Khugakhel tribe have expressed resentment over nonpayment of a mutually agreed monthly amount between them and National Logistic Cell in connection with provision of land for construction of a Customs terminal at Torkham border.

A jirga of Khugakhel elders was held here to demand that the amount should be paid to them within 10 days as NLC was withholding the amount without any tangible reason.

They said that they were not paid for the last six months by the NLC.

The NLC had agreed to pay a fixed amount to Khugakhel tribe as it charged every vehicle taking trade goods to Afghanistan. The total amount for a month ranges between Rs10 million to Rs12 mil-lion. NLC paid the said amount to Khugakhel tribe through bank cheques six months ago.

The elders would then equally distribute the said amount among all the Khugakhel families. It was the lone source of income for hundreds of poor families including widows and orphans.

Mufti Ejaz, a local elder, said that political administration and NLC should not link payment of the `terminal money` with the profit they were getting from a disputed taxi stand at Torkham.

He said that Khugakhel elders were ready to negotiate reopening of their joint taxi stand. He said that political administration had few months ago stopped the Khugakhel staff of the stand not to charge taxis and tradevehicles owing to a monetary dispute between two parties over the award of annual contract of the stand.

Masal Khan, another Khugakhel elder, accused the political administration of confusing the dispute over annual contract of taxi stand with mutually agreed payment to them by the NLC.

He said that hundreds of poor families, especially orphans and widows, were deprived of their only source of livelihood owing to six months delay in payment of the amount by the NLC.

The Khugalchel elders suggested thattheissue oftaxistandshouldbe resolved through a local jirga as its closure also deprived them of a handsome amount as monthly earning. Correspondent