MANSEHRA: A jirga in Upper Kohistan district has warned social media influencers against provoking confrontation about the creation of a new administrative unit in Hazara Division.
‘This jirga from all four tehsils of Upper Kohistan has unanimously decided to condemn and impose fines on those social media influencers who have been harming the unity of the people and provoking confrontations in our district through their content,’ lawyer Raja Arif Sazeen told reporters at the end of a meeting in Dasu on Wednesday.
The jirga, attended by elders and clerics and former local government representatives from Dasu, Harban-Basha, Kandia and Suo tehsils, announced that the people of the entire Upper Kohistan would remain on the same page on the issue of creating more federating units in Hazara and the rest of the country.
‘The people of Jalkot won’t attend the jirga in Pattan [LowerKohistan] to be held to decide the future line of action on whether the Kohistan districts should be included in Hazara province or not,’ Mr Sazeen said.
Former Dasu tehsil council chairman Ghulam Saeed said that the jirga also demanded that the general manager of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) settle all issues faced by Kohistani labourers working on the Dasu hydropower project.
‘If the issues faced by our people regarding employment, the kitchen package and other such matters are not settled amicably, we have the right to come onto the streets, and this mega energy project would be affected,’ he said.
Mr Saeed said that only the District Headquarters Hospital was facing a shortage of doctors and adequate healthcare services.
‘It is unfortunate that a woman lost her baby during labour because a lady doctor was not on duty. We cannot tolerate such incidents. If the health secretary, deputy commissioner and other relevant officials do not take action, we will come onto the streets for our rights,’ he said.
BLOCKED ROADS: People of Torghar have demanded of the deputy commissioner to reopen arteries blocked across the district during the recent monsoonrains and floods.
‘The Gatto and other arteries were blocked during the monsoon rains and could not be cleared for traffic even after weeks of landslides, resulting in students, government employees and other people facing difficulties travelling to reach their respective destinations,’ elder Amrullah Khan said during a meeting with Torghar deputy commissioner Dr Yasir Imran on Wednesday.
A group of residents called on the DC and apprised him of the issues facing the community.
Mr Khan said the Mori Bassikhel School Road, Gatto Road, Shah Basikhel Road and other link roads in the district were blocked by recent landslides triggered by monsoon rains but had yet to be cleared to traffic.
The DC said the district administration had approved the clearance of all such roads before sparing three excavators for it.
‘We expect that all arteries will be opened to traffic soon to ease people’s misery,’ he said.
Dr Yasir said that execution of the blacktopping of major arteries connecting the district with Hazara and Malakand divisions would soon resume.
‘The government has approved funds for roads and other development projects in the district, and work would resume within two or three weeks,’ he said.