CHITRAL: Representatives of civil society organisations and political parties on Thursday warned poverty andbadgovernance threatenedto disrupt peace in Chitral.

The warning was issued during a jirga called by Lower Chitral`s district administration to discuss matters of public importance, strengthen coordination among stakeholders and obtain feedback from various segments of society.

The district heads of various political parties and organisations turned up and presented proposalsto achieve the major target of attaining socialcohesion and maintaining peace in the area.

They pointed towards flaws and snags in different development projects, especially road ones of both the federal and provincial government in Chitral and the lack of government interest in restoring the infrastructure devastatedbynoodslastyear.

The political and civil society leaders expressed reservations about the beneficiaries for Ramazan Package and repatriation of Afghan refugees.

Lower Chitral deputy commissioner Mohsin Iqbal said the complete list of the beneficiaries of Ramazan Package would be made public soon, showing the transparency ofthe process.

Regarding the Afghan refugees`repatriation, he said that those having no legal status would be provided with all required facilities in return to their homeland.

He said that in crossing points of the district in Arandu, Arsoon and Sheshi Koh, a sufficient number of Levies personnel would be deployed to increase vigilance.

Regarding the development work, he said that efforts were being made to accelerate work on the site ensuring both quality and quantity for which district administration has established close liaison with the relevant departments and organisations.

DPO Iftikhar Shah rejected the proposalof decreasing the number of checkposts in the district saying it can`t be accepted under the current security circumstances. He urged people to extend cooperation to police at checkpoints.

The DPO said the police had been put on alert to counter terrorism, and with the coordination of Chitral Scouts, they had been carrying out search and strike operations in the border villages periodically.