ISLAMABAD: Regarding the possibility to open the Lowari tunnel for the public soon after its completion this year, the National Highway Authority has issued the following statement:
We would like to take this opportunity to apprise the people of the actual status of the project and the timeframe of its formal opening.
The excavation work on the Lowari tunnel is expected to be completed this winter. However, once the excavation is completed, the tunnel will remain under close technical observation for a certain period of time in order to ensure that there is no deformation or overstressing in the rocks. Also, once the excavation is completed, a host of civil works involving movement of heavy machinery will need to be carried out inside the tunnel.
The tunnel has to be completed in all respects and declared absolutely safe by engineers before opening it for public use. At present, work is proceeding as planned and the tunnel is expected to formally open by the end of 2010.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Khowar-Urdu dictionary launched
Report Zahiruddin, Chitral
Speakers at a ceremony held here on Sunday said that Khowar language and literature could be ranked with other languages of the country because of its rich and varied vocabulary.
The ceremony was held to launch the first-ever Khowar-Urdu dictionary. The speakers said that the compilation and publication of the Khowar dictionary was a landmark achievement.
Those who addressed the ceremony included compiler of the dictionary Naji Khan Naji, former MPA Maulana Jahangir Khan, tehsil nazim Sartaj Ahmed Khan, president of Anjuman Taraqi-i-Khowar M Yousuf Shahazad, intellectuals Mukarram Shah, Moula Nigah and others.
They said that the dictionary contained more than 16,000 words and phrases of Khowar language which had been rendered into the national language. They said that serious efforts by the writers and poets of Khowar were afoot to bring the language at par with the other languages of the country.
The speakers said that the number of publications on Khowar prose and poetry had reached 500 which showed steady progress and advancement of the language. They said that diversity of the subjects used in the language was enough to testify the approach of the Khowar writers.
They said though a good number of words had been replaced by other languages but the dictionary still preserved the essence of the Khowar language.--Dawn
Speakers at a ceremony held here on Sunday said that Khowar language and literature could be ranked with other languages of the country because of its rich and varied vocabulary.
The ceremony was held to launch the first-ever Khowar-Urdu dictionary. The speakers said that the compilation and publication of the Khowar dictionary was a landmark achievement.
Those who addressed the ceremony included compiler of the dictionary Naji Khan Naji, former MPA Maulana Jahangir Khan, tehsil nazim Sartaj Ahmed Khan, president of Anjuman Taraqi-i-Khowar M Yousuf Shahazad, intellectuals Mukarram Shah, Moula Nigah and others.
They said that the dictionary contained more than 16,000 words and phrases of Khowar language which had been rendered into the national language. They said that serious efforts by the writers and poets of Khowar were afoot to bring the language at par with the other languages of the country.
The speakers said that the number of publications on Khowar prose and poetry had reached 500 which showed steady progress and advancement of the language. They said that diversity of the subjects used in the language was enough to testify the approach of the Khowar writers.
They said though a good number of words had been replaced by other languages but the dictionary still preserved the essence of the Khowar language.--Dawn
Chitral: naanbais warned
CHITRAL: District Coordination Officer Mutasim Billah Shah has warned tandoor owners to sell bread at the fixed rate otherwise action would be taken against them.
During a surprise visit to the bazaar on Sunday, he observed that almost 80 per cent of the naanbais were selling bread of low weight. The DCO imposed fines on the violators and also gave cash prizes to two naanbais for maintaining standard bread weight.
The DCO asked the tandoor owners to also ensure quality of the floor. He also inspected a number of hotels and restaurants in the city and expressed his dissatisfaction over the hygienic conditions being maintained there. He warned them to ensure cleanliness. --Zahiruddin
During a surprise visit to the bazaar on Sunday, he observed that almost 80 per cent of the naanbais were selling bread of low weight. The DCO imposed fines on the violators and also gave cash prizes to two naanbais for maintaining standard bread weight.
The DCO asked the tandoor owners to also ensure quality of the floor. He also inspected a number of hotels and restaurants in the city and expressed his dissatisfaction over the hygienic conditions being maintained there. He warned them to ensure cleanliness. --Zahiruddin
PPP can recapture Chitral if priorities changed: MPA
DAWN, February 29, 2008
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The workers of Pakistan People's Party (PPP)
Chitral chapter expect that the upcoming governments in
the centre and the NWFP would give top priority to the
development of the district to win back the grassroots
support it once enjoyed in the area.
"Drastic actions are required to woo back the estranged
workers, and allocation of a seat for the area in the next
provincial cabinet would help achieve the objective," said
Saleem Khan, the lone PPP MPA-elect from PF-89 Chitral-I during
his visit to the >>bs<>es<< offices here accompanied by
the district nazim of Chitral, Maghfirat Shah.
The MPA-elect said Chitral had long been ignored both by the
federal and provincial governments. Areawise it is the biggest
district of the province but funds are allocated to it on the
basis of population which are not enough as the area has no
income of its own while mineral, hydropower and other resources
still remain untapped.
He said his first priority would be to develop healthcare,
educational facilities and communication infrastructure which
were all in a shambles.
He said torrential rains, snowfall, landsliding and other
calamities during the last a couple of years had wreaked havoc on
the already poor communication infrastructure. As a result, roads
in Arandu, Birir, Bumburet, Arkari, Gobor and other areas were in
a dilapidated condition and needed urgent repair. Besides, the
valley also faces a crisis of power shortage as demand was
increasing but the valley's potential to generate over 4,000MW
hydro-electricity had not been explored. He regretted that the
Rs6.5 billion 106MW Golen Gol hydropower project had been left in
the cold storage after preparation of the feasibility report and
acquisition of land. He asked the federal government to expedite
work on the project to resolve the power crisis in the valley.
About lack of healthcare facilities, he said a number of BHUs
had been set up in various parts of the district but they were
still without staff. The district and the tehsil headquarters
hospitals also lacked staff and facilities. As a result, patients
suffer a lot particularly in winter when the valley is cut off
from rest of the country for five months.
He said the district also needed a university and postgraduate
colleges. At present there were one degree college for men and one
for women that too were in the main town. As a result, students after
passing the HSSC examination either discontinue education or have
to move to urban areas.
The district nazim, who belongs to the Jamaat-i-Islami, said
people pinned high hopes in the future PPP government regarding
development of the valley.
He said the NWFP government had sanctioned Rs100 million for
rehabilitation of destroyed roads. He said work on the Mastuj
bridge had already started while tenders had been floated for
the construction of Booni-Shandur road and the damaged bridge
linking the Yarkhun valley with other parts of the district.
They complained that the PML-Q candidates in the valley had
utilised the resources of an NGO in their election campaigns.
They alleged that the PML-Q candidates accompanied announced
development projects including construction of roads, bridges
and power houses and asked the people to vote for them.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The workers of Pakistan People's Party (PPP)
Chitral chapter expect that the upcoming governments in
the centre and the NWFP would give top priority to the
development of the district to win back the grassroots
support it once enjoyed in the area.
"Drastic actions are required to woo back the estranged
workers, and allocation of a seat for the area in the next
provincial cabinet would help achieve the objective," said
Saleem Khan, the lone PPP MPA-elect from PF-89 Chitral-I during
his visit to the >>bs<
the district nazim of Chitral, Maghfirat Shah.
The MPA-elect said Chitral had long been ignored both by the
federal and provincial governments. Areawise it is the biggest
district of the province but funds are allocated to it on the
basis of population which are not enough as the area has no
income of its own while mineral, hydropower and other resources
still remain untapped.
He said his first priority would be to develop healthcare,
educational facilities and communication infrastructure which
were all in a shambles.
He said torrential rains, snowfall, landsliding and other
calamities during the last a couple of years had wreaked havoc on
the already poor communication infrastructure. As a result, roads
in Arandu, Birir, Bumburet, Arkari, Gobor and other areas were in
a dilapidated condition and needed urgent repair. Besides, the
valley also faces a crisis of power shortage as demand was
increasing but the valley's potential to generate over 4,000MW
hydro-electricity had not been explored. He regretted that the
Rs6.5 billion 106MW Golen Gol hydropower project had been left in
the cold storage after preparation of the feasibility report and
acquisition of land. He asked the federal government to expedite
work on the project to resolve the power crisis in the valley.
About lack of healthcare facilities, he said a number of BHUs
had been set up in various parts of the district but they were
still without staff. The district and the tehsil headquarters
hospitals also lacked staff and facilities. As a result, patients
suffer a lot particularly in winter when the valley is cut off
from rest of the country for five months.
He said the district also needed a university and postgraduate
colleges. At present there were one degree college for men and one
for women that too were in the main town. As a result, students after
passing the HSSC examination either discontinue education or have
to move to urban areas.
The district nazim, who belongs to the Jamaat-i-Islami, said
people pinned high hopes in the future PPP government regarding
development of the valley.
He said the NWFP government had sanctioned Rs100 million for
rehabilitation of destroyed roads. He said work on the Mastuj
bridge had already started while tenders had been floated for
the construction of Booni-Shandur road and the damaged bridge
linking the Yarkhun valley with other parts of the district.
They complained that the PML-Q candidates in the valley had
utilised the resources of an NGO in their election campaigns.
They alleged that the PML-Q candidates accompanied announced
development projects including construction of roads, bridges
and power houses and asked the people to vote for them.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Chitral forest a ‘windfall’ for timber mafia
Dawn, Aug 18, 2008
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: The timber mafia in NWFP has wreaked havoc on the forest of Chitral by illegally felling green trees and smuggling them to other parts of the country. However, the government has failed to take action against the network despite initiating investigations through the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Chitral's mostly deodar forest spreads over 120,000 acres out of which 100,000 acres are commercial and the remaining 20,000 acres non-commercial.
Under the law, trees can be cut down after being marked by the government for domestic use or export to other districts. The forest area stretching from Lowari to Ayun has already been under stress due to excessive cutting for use as firewood. A total of five million trees were cut down after marking from 1967 to 1997, while clandestine cutting and smuggling also continued during the period. A large-scale marking of trees was carried out during 1990-91 but soon a ban was imposed after objections raised by environmental agencies and the public mostly from the subdivision of Mastuj who heavily depend on the forest of lower Chitral for firewood and construction purposes.
However, the timber mafia remained active and in 2005-06 succeeded in persuading the government to restart marking, saying if the ‘windfall’ trees and those affected by heavy snowfall and rains were not marked for cutting, they could catch fire and destroy the whole forest!
As a result, the government sanctioned marking and the timber mafia initiated the process from Rumbur valley after entering into a dubious deal with the elders of the area under which the forest owners would get Rs30 per foot. Soon, 700,000 trees were marked for cutting in the small valley after showing them `windfall’. However, on public complaints, an inquiry was initiated which found that out of the 700,000 trees marked, a whopping 500,000 were green and healthy saplings.
Though the government once again stopped the process but no action was taken against those who had marked green trees for cutting. Later, the youth of the area did not even allow chopping of the remaining 200,000 marked trees demanding payment at the market rate. Similarly, 200,000 trees were marked in the Birir and 600,000 in the Shishy valleys. Locals say widespread irregularities have been committed in the marking of trees in these valleys too.
Sources in the forest department said the mafia bought the trees at the rate of Rs30 per foot from the locals and smuggle it to other district where it fetched Rs3,000 per foot. "Billions of rupees are involved in the illegal trade and forest department officials from top to bottom are involved in the scam."
Chitrali officials in the forest department told Dawn that the timber mafia has been looting the forest resources of the district with impunity by keeping the local officials and the residents at bay. They said with the abolition of the state Chitral’s forest came under the administrative control of the provincial government on January 1, 1971. Giving one example of how the locals have been kept out of the decision-making process in the department, they said all key posts in the district forest department were given to outsiders. To make sure that no Chitrali got a responsible job in the department, the doors for admission to the only Forest College of the country in Peshawar have been closed on the Chitrali students. A few students who took admission to the college on a self-finance basis were denied jobs in the department lest they could expose the wrongdoings.
In a letter to the President on behalf of the residents of Arandu Lasht, one Mohammad Ali Khan complained about the indiscriminate cutting of forest in Arandu Gol, Damel and Langorbat. He said the smuggling of timber to Afghanistan and Upper Dir areas continued under the nose of the customs officials. He said the mafia got 140,000 feet of wood chopped down in Arandu Gol alone and later claimed that they had confiscated 55,000 cubic feet of wood in order to avoid payment of royalty amounting millions of rupees to the locals. But strangely, neither the accused were identified nor any investigation ordered. The locals regretted that on the one hand the government had put in place strict rules for movement of timber within the valley and on the other given a free hand to the mafia to smuggle it out of the district.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: The timber mafia in NWFP has wreaked havoc on the forest of Chitral by illegally felling green trees and smuggling them to other parts of the country. However, the government has failed to take action against the network despite initiating investigations through the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Chitral's mostly deodar forest spreads over 120,000 acres out of which 100,000 acres are commercial and the remaining 20,000 acres non-commercial.
Under the law, trees can be cut down after being marked by the government for domestic use or export to other districts. The forest area stretching from Lowari to Ayun has already been under stress due to excessive cutting for use as firewood. A total of five million trees were cut down after marking from 1967 to 1997, while clandestine cutting and smuggling also continued during the period. A large-scale marking of trees was carried out during 1990-91 but soon a ban was imposed after objections raised by environmental agencies and the public mostly from the subdivision of Mastuj who heavily depend on the forest of lower Chitral for firewood and construction purposes.
However, the timber mafia remained active and in 2005-06 succeeded in persuading the government to restart marking, saying if the ‘windfall’ trees and those affected by heavy snowfall and rains were not marked for cutting, they could catch fire and destroy the whole forest!
As a result, the government sanctioned marking and the timber mafia initiated the process from Rumbur valley after entering into a dubious deal with the elders of the area under which the forest owners would get Rs30 per foot. Soon, 700,000 trees were marked for cutting in the small valley after showing them `windfall’. However, on public complaints, an inquiry was initiated which found that out of the 700,000 trees marked, a whopping 500,000 were green and healthy saplings.
Though the government once again stopped the process but no action was taken against those who had marked green trees for cutting. Later, the youth of the area did not even allow chopping of the remaining 200,000 marked trees demanding payment at the market rate. Similarly, 200,000 trees were marked in the Birir and 600,000 in the Shishy valleys. Locals say widespread irregularities have been committed in the marking of trees in these valleys too.
Sources in the forest department said the mafia bought the trees at the rate of Rs30 per foot from the locals and smuggle it to other district where it fetched Rs3,000 per foot. "Billions of rupees are involved in the illegal trade and forest department officials from top to bottom are involved in the scam."
Chitrali officials in the forest department told Dawn that the timber mafia has been looting the forest resources of the district with impunity by keeping the local officials and the residents at bay. They said with the abolition of the state Chitral’s forest came under the administrative control of the provincial government on January 1, 1971. Giving one example of how the locals have been kept out of the decision-making process in the department, they said all key posts in the district forest department were given to outsiders. To make sure that no Chitrali got a responsible job in the department, the doors for admission to the only Forest College of the country in Peshawar have been closed on the Chitrali students. A few students who took admission to the college on a self-finance basis were denied jobs in the department lest they could expose the wrongdoings.
In a letter to the President on behalf of the residents of Arandu Lasht, one Mohammad Ali Khan complained about the indiscriminate cutting of forest in Arandu Gol, Damel and Langorbat. He said the smuggling of timber to Afghanistan and Upper Dir areas continued under the nose of the customs officials. He said the mafia got 140,000 feet of wood chopped down in Arandu Gol alone and later claimed that they had confiscated 55,000 cubic feet of wood in order to avoid payment of royalty amounting millions of rupees to the locals. But strangely, neither the accused were identified nor any investigation ordered. The locals regretted that on the one hand the government had put in place strict rules for movement of timber within the valley and on the other given a free hand to the mafia to smuggle it out of the district.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Road closure puts Chitralis in a bind
Dawn, December 26, 2007
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: A crisis of sorts has gripped Chitral
as the Afghan government has not yet allowed the stranded
people of the valley to use its territory to travel to and
from the district after the closure of the Lowari Pass on
December 19.
When a few people crossed the Nawa Pass to travel through
the Kunar province of Afghanistan to Chitral from Peshawar,
the Afghan authorities detained them for a couple of days. Later,
they were released after intervention of some notables of
Chitral.
The district remains completely cut off from rest of the
country for full four months from December to April every year
after the 10,500-foot-high Lowari Pass closes for all types
of traffic due to hundreds of feet deep snow. The people of
the district use the Kunar-Nawa pass route to reach other parts
of the country during the period. Instead of any bilateral
agreement between the two governments, local notables make
temporary arrangements by holding talks with the Afghan
provincial authorities on a yearly basis to let the people
of Chitral to travel on the treacherous route through the
neighbouring Afghan province.
People of the district complained that Pakistan had always
gone an extra mile in ensuring transit trade facilities to
Afghanistan but the latter was even not ready to allow ambulance
vehicles carrying patients to and from the landlocked district
to use its territory.
They demanded that the federal government should take up the
issue with Afghanistan and get a right of way agreement signed
with Kabul, so that the people of Chitral used the Afghan
territory without any hindrance in winter till the completion
of the Lowari tunnel.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: A crisis of sorts has gripped Chitral
as the Afghan government has not yet allowed the stranded
people of the valley to use its territory to travel to and
from the district after the closure of the Lowari Pass on
December 19.
When a few people crossed the Nawa Pass to travel through
the Kunar province of Afghanistan to Chitral from Peshawar,
the Afghan authorities detained them for a couple of days. Later,
they were released after intervention of some notables of
Chitral.
The district remains completely cut off from rest of the
country for full four months from December to April every year
after the 10,500-foot-high Lowari Pass closes for all types
of traffic due to hundreds of feet deep snow. The people of
the district use the Kunar-Nawa pass route to reach other parts
of the country during the period. Instead of any bilateral
agreement between the two governments, local notables make
temporary arrangements by holding talks with the Afghan
provincial authorities on a yearly basis to let the people
of Chitral to travel on the treacherous route through the
neighbouring Afghan province.
People of the district complained that Pakistan had always
gone an extra mile in ensuring transit trade facilities to
Afghanistan but the latter was even not ready to allow ambulance
vehicles carrying patients to and from the landlocked district
to use its territory.
They demanded that the federal government should take up the
issue with Afghanistan and get a right of way agreement signed
with Kabul, so that the people of Chitral used the Afghan
territory without any hindrance in winter till the completion
of the Lowari tunnel.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Local govt offices set up in Chitral BHUs
Dawn, Jan 2, 2002
By Zar Alam Khan
CHITRAL: All the newly formed 24 union and two tehsil
councils of the district government here have set up assembly
offices inside the premises of basic health units (BHUs), rural
health centres and tehsil headquarters hospitals in various parts
of the valley, sources in the local health office confirmed.
Most of the health centres, particularly in the far-flung areas
of the valley, have been inoperative due to non-availability of
medical and paramedical staff and diagnostic facilities.
According to the health officials, 14 out of 21 basic
health units (BHUs) are without medical staff and 16 posts of
medical officers are vacant in the three tehsil headquarters
hospitals, while two out of the three rural health centres
have no doctors at all.
District Nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin said that in absence of
office accommodations for the new assemblies, the
government had authorized the local bodies to use vacant government
premises and the buildings in the health units have been taken over
by the local bodies for the purpose after consultation and in
consensus with the health department authorities.
Confirming the decision, acting EDO health, Dr Nazir Ahmed,
said only unused portions of the health unit buildings have
been given to the local bodies on certain conditions. He said the
buildings would be taken back when needed.
There are three tehsil headquarters hospitals, one each in
Drosh, Garamchashma and Booni, while three rural health centres
are located in Koghozi, Ayun and Mastuj villages.
The 21 BHUs, most of which have come under the use of the
local bodies, are located in the following villages:
Gobor and Shoghor in Lotkoh tehsil; Broz and Moroi in tehsil
Chitral; Keso, Tar, Naghar, Asuret and Arandu in Drosh tehsil;
Reshun, Shangush, Sonoghar, Brep, Brok (Laspur) in tehsil Mastuj;
Kosht, Drasun, Nishkoh and Zondrangram in Mul Khow, and Khot, Rech
and Shagram in Tor Khow tehsil.
About the unending problem of shortage of medical staff, the
health officials said that only the director general of health, NWFP,
is authorized to appoint and transfer doctors in the district
and because of financial constraints and unwillingness of doctors
to work in the rural areas, most of the health care units have been
almost inoperative or running without medical staff and supplies.
Official figures showed that three out of four specialists
posts have remained vacant, while six posts of medical officers
(MOs) are unfilled in the tehsil headquarters hospital in Drosh. In
the ten-bedded Garamchashma tehsil hospital, out of six MOs and
dental surgeon's posts, only two doctors are available, while in Booni
two posts of MOs are vacant for a long time.
Similarly, in the three rural health centres, only one doctor
out of three is working in Koghozi, all three posts are vacant in
Ayun, while one dental surgeon is available against three MO posts
in Mastuj.
Fourteen out of 21 BHUs in the district have no doctors and
necessary diagnostic facilities: These BHUs are located in Shoghor,
Lot Koh tehsil; Moroi in tehsil Chitral; Tar, Asuret, Naghar and
Arandu in Drosh tehsil; Shangush, Sonoghar, Brep, Brok (Laspur)
in Mastuj tehsil; Rech in Tor Khow and Drasun, Nishkoh and
Zondrangram in Mul Khow tehsil.
Because of geographical disparities and absence of communication
facilities health care facilities have become almost non-existent
in the district which remains completely cut-off from rest of the
country for about six months when it snows on the 10,000-foot Lowari
Pass in the winter.
FUNDS FOR UCs: Rs0.9 million have been allocated to each of
the 24 union councils, while special grant would be allocated for
women's progress under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme, district
Nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin said.
He said the provincial government has allocated Rs10 millions
for the under-construction portion of Mastuj Road and the
Frontier Works Organization has been approached for starting work
on the Shandur road from Mastuj side linking Chitral with
Karakuram Highway via Gahguch-Gilgit. Work on the road from
Gahguch, Gilgit, side has already been started.
The district Nazim said after completion of the 4.8
megawatt Reshun power house, at a cost of about Rs410 million,
most of the villages of upper Chitral, including those in Yarkhoon,
Laspur, Mul Khow and Tor Khow, would be electrified.
By Zar Alam Khan
CHITRAL: All the newly formed 24 union and two tehsil
councils of the district government here have set up assembly
offices inside the premises of basic health units (BHUs), rural
health centres and tehsil headquarters hospitals in various parts
of the valley, sources in the local health office confirmed.
Most of the health centres, particularly in the far-flung areas
of the valley, have been inoperative due to non-availability of
medical and paramedical staff and diagnostic facilities.
According to the health officials, 14 out of 21 basic
health units (BHUs) are without medical staff and 16 posts of
medical officers are vacant in the three tehsil headquarters
hospitals, while two out of the three rural health centres
have no doctors at all.
District Nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin said that in absence of
office accommodations for the new assemblies, the
government had authorized the local bodies to use vacant government
premises and the buildings in the health units have been taken over
by the local bodies for the purpose after consultation and in
consensus with the health department authorities.
Confirming the decision, acting EDO health, Dr Nazir Ahmed,
said only unused portions of the health unit buildings have
been given to the local bodies on certain conditions. He said the
buildings would be taken back when needed.
There are three tehsil headquarters hospitals, one each in
Drosh, Garamchashma and Booni, while three rural health centres
are located in Koghozi, Ayun and Mastuj villages.
The 21 BHUs, most of which have come under the use of the
local bodies, are located in the following villages:
Gobor and Shoghor in Lotkoh tehsil; Broz and Moroi in tehsil
Chitral; Keso, Tar, Naghar, Asuret and Arandu in Drosh tehsil;
Reshun, Shangush, Sonoghar, Brep, Brok (Laspur) in tehsil Mastuj;
Kosht, Drasun, Nishkoh and Zondrangram in Mul Khow, and Khot, Rech
and Shagram in Tor Khow tehsil.
About the unending problem of shortage of medical staff, the
health officials said that only the director general of health, NWFP,
is authorized to appoint and transfer doctors in the district
and because of financial constraints and unwillingness of doctors
to work in the rural areas, most of the health care units have been
almost inoperative or running without medical staff and supplies.
Official figures showed that three out of four specialists
posts have remained vacant, while six posts of medical officers
(MOs) are unfilled in the tehsil headquarters hospital in Drosh. In
the ten-bedded Garamchashma tehsil hospital, out of six MOs and
dental surgeon's posts, only two doctors are available, while in Booni
two posts of MOs are vacant for a long time.
Similarly, in the three rural health centres, only one doctor
out of three is working in Koghozi, all three posts are vacant in
Ayun, while one dental surgeon is available against three MO posts
in Mastuj.
Fourteen out of 21 BHUs in the district have no doctors and
necessary diagnostic facilities: These BHUs are located in Shoghor,
Lot Koh tehsil; Moroi in tehsil Chitral; Tar, Asuret, Naghar and
Arandu in Drosh tehsil; Shangush, Sonoghar, Brep, Brok (Laspur)
in Mastuj tehsil; Rech in Tor Khow and Drasun, Nishkoh and
Zondrangram in Mul Khow tehsil.
Because of geographical disparities and absence of communication
facilities health care facilities have become almost non-existent
in the district which remains completely cut-off from rest of the
country for about six months when it snows on the 10,000-foot Lowari
Pass in the winter.
FUNDS FOR UCs: Rs0.9 million have been allocated to each of
the 24 union councils, while special grant would be allocated for
women's progress under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme, district
Nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin said.
He said the provincial government has allocated Rs10 millions
for the under-construction portion of Mastuj Road and the
Frontier Works Organization has been approached for starting work
on the Shandur road from Mastuj side linking Chitral with
Karakuram Highway via Gahguch-Gilgit. Work on the road from
Gahguch, Gilgit, side has already been started.
The district Nazim said after completion of the 4.8
megawatt Reshun power house, at a cost of about Rs410 million,
most of the villages of upper Chitral, including those in Yarkhoon,
Laspur, Mul Khow and Tor Khow, would be electrified.
Employment ban affects academic activities
=======
COMMENT
=======
DAWN, Sept 11, 2002
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
THE continuing ban on appointments of teaching and non-
teaching staff for the last many years has badly affected
academic activities in Chitral district.
Besides, as many as eight primary and middle schools selected
for upgradation have not yet been upgraded despite completion of
the required buildings under the Tamir-i-Watan programme of the
last Nawaz Sharif regime.
The schools awaiting upgradation are situated in villages
Naghar, Khorkashan Deh, Washich, upper Kuju, Harchin, Potonian
Deh, Koghuzi and Reshun.
Last year, a sum of Rs6 million had been allocated for the
completion of various school expansion works in different parts
of the district which had been left halfway due to unavailability
of funds for the last many years.
The delay has affected academic standard at schools besides
causing innumerable hardships to schoolchildren, as many girls
could not continue education due to unavailability of separate
classrooms.
Newly-appointed Executive District Officer (education) Sher
Dil Aman told >>bs<>es<< that the PC-1 of the schemes had
been sent to the provincial government, which allocates funds
for the purpose under the annual development programme.
He said the projects would be executed under the government's
development and non-development priorities and in accordance
with available resources.
He said the absence of policy formulation regarding
appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff had created
problems for the department.
The official said the provincial government had reportedly
empowered the District Coordination Officer (DCO) to appoint
staff from scale 1 to 15 in the local health department, but
no such directive had been issued regarding the education
department.
He said owners of lands on which a number of school buildings
had been built were pressuring the department to provide them
employments as promised in lieu of their property.
The ban on appointments and transfers of teachers has created
an academic disequilibrium in all the educational institutions of
the district numbering over 700. The worst-hit are those in the
far-flung villages where lack of local staff coupled with the ban
on appointments and transfers has aggravated the situation.
Majority of the 45 secondary schools are operating without
headmasters as local teachers, according to education officials,
could not meet the requirements, including passing the public
service commission exams, to fill the posts. After crossing grade
18, the teachers are transferred out of the district as there are
only two posts of grade 19 and above in the district's schools.
A large number of government employees had been put on the
surplus pool in the province by the military regime and the
NWFP governor had issued an order that till the surplus pool
staff were readjusted no appointment would be made. The order
has, so far, not been withdrawn by the MMA government.
COMMENT
=======
DAWN, Sept 11, 2002
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
THE continuing ban on appointments of teaching and non-
teaching staff for the last many years has badly affected
academic activities in Chitral district.
Besides, as many as eight primary and middle schools selected
for upgradation have not yet been upgraded despite completion of
the required buildings under the Tamir-i-Watan programme of the
last Nawaz Sharif regime.
The schools awaiting upgradation are situated in villages
Naghar, Khorkashan Deh, Washich, upper Kuju, Harchin, Potonian
Deh, Koghuzi and Reshun.
Last year, a sum of Rs6 million had been allocated for the
completion of various school expansion works in different parts
of the district which had been left halfway due to unavailability
of funds for the last many years.
The delay has affected academic standard at schools besides
causing innumerable hardships to schoolchildren, as many girls
could not continue education due to unavailability of separate
classrooms.
Newly-appointed Executive District Officer (education) Sher
Dil Aman told >>bs<
been sent to the provincial government, which allocates funds
for the purpose under the annual development programme.
He said the projects would be executed under the government's
development and non-development priorities and in accordance
with available resources.
He said the absence of policy formulation regarding
appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff had created
problems for the department.
The official said the provincial government had reportedly
empowered the District Coordination Officer (DCO) to appoint
staff from scale 1 to 15 in the local health department, but
no such directive had been issued regarding the education
department.
He said owners of lands on which a number of school buildings
had been built were pressuring the department to provide them
employments as promised in lieu of their property.
The ban on appointments and transfers of teachers has created
an academic disequilibrium in all the educational institutions of
the district numbering over 700. The worst-hit are those in the
far-flung villages where lack of local staff coupled with the ban
on appointments and transfers has aggravated the situation.
Majority of the 45 secondary schools are operating without
headmasters as local teachers, according to education officials,
could not meet the requirements, including passing the public
service commission exams, to fill the posts. After crossing grade
18, the teachers are transferred out of the district as there are
only two posts of grade 19 and above in the district's schools.
A large number of government employees had been put on the
surplus pool in the province by the military regime and the
NWFP governor had issued an order that till the surplus pool
staff were readjusted no appointment would be made. The order
has, so far, not been withdrawn by the MMA government.
More aircraft on Chitral route demanded
Dawn, Dec 1, 2004
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: People in Chitral have criticized the
government for delaying the induction of new "all-weather"
aircraft on the Peshawar-Chitral route to lessen communication
problems in winter during which they remain cut off from rest
of the country.
When the Lowari Pass route closes for all types of traffic
due to snow, the old age PIA Fokker flights from Peshawar
become the only source of link for the district. As the
flights are too erratic and dependent on weather condition,
the people use the Nawa Pass route via Kunar province of
Afghanistan at the risk of being killed and robbed to travel
to and from rest of the country.
They also slammed the government for not making alternative
arrangements to resolve the transportation problems of the valley
and demanded the federal government allocate special funds for
the purpose until the completion of the Lowari tunnel project.
The PIA had announced that it would induct seven 50-seater
new technology turboprop aircraft to replace the old Fokker
F-27 planes during the year 2004-05.
The PIA Board of Directors had formed a committee to give
a final report on the selection of prospective aircraft by the
end of March 2004.
The national carrier has been delaying the induction of the
new aircraft despite putting a few of them on trial flights.
Officials say the proposed aircraft will be best suited for
the mountainous areas where the Fokker-27 planes could not
operate even in slightly inclement weather.
Almost 70 per cent of weather-related flight delays will be
overcome if the turboprop aircraft are operated on the routes to
the Northern Areas and Chitral, they maintain.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: People in Chitral have criticized the
government for delaying the induction of new "all-weather"
aircraft on the Peshawar-Chitral route to lessen communication
problems in winter during which they remain cut off from rest
of the country.
When the Lowari Pass route closes for all types of traffic
due to snow, the old age PIA Fokker flights from Peshawar
become the only source of link for the district. As the
flights are too erratic and dependent on weather condition,
the people use the Nawa Pass route via Kunar province of
Afghanistan at the risk of being killed and robbed to travel
to and from rest of the country.
They also slammed the government for not making alternative
arrangements to resolve the transportation problems of the valley
and demanded the federal government allocate special funds for
the purpose until the completion of the Lowari tunnel project.
The PIA had announced that it would induct seven 50-seater
new technology turboprop aircraft to replace the old Fokker
F-27 planes during the year 2004-05.
The PIA Board of Directors had formed a committee to give
a final report on the selection of prospective aircraft by the
end of March 2004.
The national carrier has been delaying the induction of the
new aircraft despite putting a few of them on trial flights.
Officials say the proposed aircraft will be best suited for
the mountainous areas where the Fokker-27 planes could not
operate even in slightly inclement weather.
Almost 70 per cent of weather-related flight delays will be
overcome if the turboprop aircraft are operated on the routes to
the Northern Areas and Chitral, they maintain.
Proposed route to Tajikistan via Chitral welcomed
Dawn,December 5, 2005
ISLAMABAD: People in Chitral have welcomed the
government's plan to construct a 90 million dollars road
through the Boroghil Pass in the Yarkhun valley to link
Pakistan with the Central Asian states.
They also hailed a Nespak (National Engineering Services of
Pakistan) pre-feasibility report recommending the Wakhan-Chitral
route for the import of 1,000 megawatts electricity from
Tajikistan to meet the country's burgeoning power demands.
They said the proposed projects would open up the district,
which remains cut off from the rest of the country in winter,
to new era of prosperity and development besides boosting the
national economy and regional trade.
According to reports, Federal Minister for Water and Power
Liaquat Ali Jatoi has asked Nespak to finalize and submit the
feasibility report of the road project to the federal cabinet
for approval.
Of the 13 passes which lead to Afghanistan from Chitral
district, the Boroghil Pass is the easiest and lowest in
altitude. The pass is very easy to travel over the undulating
Pamir and closes only for a very short period late in winter.
Wakhan is a 13 to 65km wide strategic strip in the northeast
of Afghanistan with a length of about 300km. The area links
Afghanistan with Pakistan in the south, Tajikistan in the north
and China in the east.
The Wakhan-Boroghil route has been preferred against the one
passing through the central parts of Afghanistan due to security
situation in the neighbouring country.
The road will connect the 12,484-foot-high Boroghil Pass at
the northwest of the Yarkhun valley in Chitral with Sarhad-i-Langar
in Wakhan at a distance of about 95km and move on to Iskashim in
Tajikistan leading to the Tajik capital Dushanbe via the Korung-
Kalai Chumb and Kulob areas.
From the Boroghil Pass, the road will traverse down the over
300-km-long valley and reach Peshawar. The distance from Tajikistan
to Peshawar via the Wakhan-Chitral route is estimated to be 700km.
From Mastuj in the upper Chitral, the road will also branch
off to the Northern Areas via the 10,500-foot-high Shandur Pass
and merge into the Karakorum Highway.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf has already sanctioned a number
of road projects aimed to inter-link the Northern Areas and
Chitral to develop the haggard communication network in the
area and promote tourism potential of the region.
To link Chitral with other parts of the country through an
all-weather route, the government has already sanctioned the
Rs7.9 billion Lowari rail tunnel project. Work on the project
is slated to begin in May, which will take four years for
completion.
ISLAMABAD: People in Chitral have welcomed the
government's plan to construct a 90 million dollars road
through the Boroghil Pass in the Yarkhun valley to link
Pakistan with the Central Asian states.
They also hailed a Nespak (National Engineering Services of
Pakistan) pre-feasibility report recommending the Wakhan-Chitral
route for the import of 1,000 megawatts electricity from
Tajikistan to meet the country's burgeoning power demands.
They said the proposed projects would open up the district,
which remains cut off from the rest of the country in winter,
to new era of prosperity and development besides boosting the
national economy and regional trade.
According to reports, Federal Minister for Water and Power
Liaquat Ali Jatoi has asked Nespak to finalize and submit the
feasibility report of the road project to the federal cabinet
for approval.
Of the 13 passes which lead to Afghanistan from Chitral
district, the Boroghil Pass is the easiest and lowest in
altitude. The pass is very easy to travel over the undulating
Pamir and closes only for a very short period late in winter.
Wakhan is a 13 to 65km wide strategic strip in the northeast
of Afghanistan with a length of about 300km. The area links
Afghanistan with Pakistan in the south, Tajikistan in the north
and China in the east.
The Wakhan-Boroghil route has been preferred against the one
passing through the central parts of Afghanistan due to security
situation in the neighbouring country.
The road will connect the 12,484-foot-high Boroghil Pass at
the northwest of the Yarkhun valley in Chitral with Sarhad-i-Langar
in Wakhan at a distance of about 95km and move on to Iskashim in
Tajikistan leading to the Tajik capital Dushanbe via the Korung-
Kalai Chumb and Kulob areas.
From the Boroghil Pass, the road will traverse down the over
300-km-long valley and reach Peshawar. The distance from Tajikistan
to Peshawar via the Wakhan-Chitral route is estimated to be 700km.
From Mastuj in the upper Chitral, the road will also branch
off to the Northern Areas via the 10,500-foot-high Shandur Pass
and merge into the Karakorum Highway.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf has already sanctioned a number
of road projects aimed to inter-link the Northern Areas and
Chitral to develop the haggard communication network in the
area and promote tourism potential of the region.
To link Chitral with other parts of the country through an
all-weather route, the government has already sanctioned the
Rs7.9 billion Lowari rail tunnel project. Work on the project
is slated to begin in May, which will take four years for
completion.
Snowfall cuts link to Chitral villages
Dawn, January 13, 2005
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Life remains at a standstill in the
remote valleys of Chitral as the distant areas have been
cut off from other parts of the district after heavy
snowfall over a week ago.
The two-foot deep snow in the mountainous and hilly areas
of the Mastuj and Yarkhun union councils has confined people
to their houses. Huge avalanches have blocked the only jeep
track north of the tehsil headquarters, about 100km from
the Chitral town.
The record snow fell after the October hailstorm which had
wrought havoc to the whole district, destroying 70 per cent of
crops and fruit trees besides ruining communication
infrastructure.
In the aftermaths of the October devastation, the area was
totally kept out of the lukewarm relief support announced by
the government for the district followed by the latest spell
that still keeps the Yarkhun valley isolated.
The supply of daily-use items, especially wheat, has been
stopped and the already insufficient stocks are running out.
People have started felling fruit trees for use as fuel-wood
in the chilling weather. Due to the absence of healthcare
facilities, patients are unable to reach the already ill-equipped
district headquarters hospital in Chitral town. The district also
remains cut off from rest of the country due to the closure of
the Lowari Pass.
In the northern-most border town of Boroghil, the situation
is said to be even worse. According to reports, people are
living amid knee-deep snow without links with other areas. A
large number of cattle, on which the locals depend for their
livelihood, have perished while supply of necessary commodities
remains stopped.
It may be pointed out that a few villages near the tehsil
headquarters, the small villages and hamlets numbering over
hundred in the Yarkhun valley have no telephone and hospital
facilities.
The harsh weather has also hampered work on the Parwak-Mastuj
road project which the people have launched on a self-help basis
after the government stopped funds when about 80 per cent work on
the scheme was completed over two years ago. The area people are
contributing money and carrying out work on the project for the
last three months.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Life remains at a standstill in the
remote valleys of Chitral as the distant areas have been
cut off from other parts of the district after heavy
snowfall over a week ago.
The two-foot deep snow in the mountainous and hilly areas
of the Mastuj and Yarkhun union councils has confined people
to their houses. Huge avalanches have blocked the only jeep
track north of the tehsil headquarters, about 100km from
the Chitral town.
The record snow fell after the October hailstorm which had
wrought havoc to the whole district, destroying 70 per cent of
crops and fruit trees besides ruining communication
infrastructure.
In the aftermaths of the October devastation, the area was
totally kept out of the lukewarm relief support announced by
the government for the district followed by the latest spell
that still keeps the Yarkhun valley isolated.
The supply of daily-use items, especially wheat, has been
stopped and the already insufficient stocks are running out.
People have started felling fruit trees for use as fuel-wood
in the chilling weather. Due to the absence of healthcare
facilities, patients are unable to reach the already ill-equipped
district headquarters hospital in Chitral town. The district also
remains cut off from rest of the country due to the closure of
the Lowari Pass.
In the northern-most border town of Boroghil, the situation
is said to be even worse. According to reports, people are
living amid knee-deep snow without links with other areas. A
large number of cattle, on which the locals depend for their
livelihood, have perished while supply of necessary commodities
remains stopped.
It may be pointed out that a few villages near the tehsil
headquarters, the small villages and hamlets numbering over
hundred in the Yarkhun valley have no telephone and hospital
facilities.
The harsh weather has also hampered work on the Parwak-Mastuj
road project which the people have launched on a self-help basis
after the government stopped funds when about 80 per cent work on
the scheme was completed over two years ago. The area people are
contributing money and carrying out work on the project for the
last three months.
Election campaign gains momentum in Chitral
Dawn, Aug 5, 2001
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
ELECTIONEERING for the fifth phase of the local bodies
poll, scheduled for Aug 9, is in full swing in Chitral.
As the polls are being held on a non-party basis, inter-
ethnic, clan and region-based loyalties will overshadow the
outcome of the race.
There are over 1,000 candidates for the 432 councillor
seats in 24 union councils of the district. For 24 nazims and as
many naib nazims, over 50 pairs of contestants are in the run,
though a number of them have returned unopposed in the Garam
Chasma valley. Besides, about 250 women candidates are vying on
their reserved seats.
Local political bigwigs have already started preparing
ground for the last showdown in the contest for the district
Nazim's slot later on.
They include the former minister of state for tourism in Nawaz
Sharif's first tenure, Shahzada Mohiuddin, and Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto's one-time provincial minister, the septuagenarian Qadir
Nawaz, who has once again gone on a foray after remaining in the
political wilderness for more than two decades.
The newcomer to challenge the experienced politicians is
a former post master-general of the province, Sardar Ali Sardar
Aman.
The Shahzada has also fielded his son for a union council
nazim in Chitral and one of his close relatives, Shahzada
Sikandarul Mulk, is contesting for the nazim of Mastuj UC.
The regional rivalry between Mastuj subdivision and
Chitral will dominate the contest for the district nazim and
the only candidate from Mastuj, Sardar Ali, will have a
tough time from his opponents, belonging to lower Chitral, who
may bury their political hatchets to ally against the
bureaucrat-turned-politician if the political tide tilts in his
favour at any stage.
About 52 per cent of the people live in Chitral and the
rest in the most backward Mastuj subdivision. This area has seen
political deprivation in many forms: its district status was
reduced to that of a subdivision and during the Zia period the
only seat of the area in the provincial assembly was also
abolished.
A former princely state, Chitral, with a population of about
32,000, is inhabited by three types of clans, according to the
census report of 1998: Adamzadas, Arbabzadas and Faqir Miskeen.
The Adamzadas have eight sub-groups -- Katur (the
ex-ruling family), Khushwaqte, Rizey, Khaniye, Mohammad Bege,
Sangale, Khushamatey and Burushe.
Moreover, the following clans are important for their
political clout: Zondray, Khoshe, Bayike, Atam Bege, Dashmane,
Sheghniye and Khoshalbege.
The district, with an area of about 14,850 kilometres, is
sparsely populated and none of the clans is concentrated in any
particular constituency. Because of this, there has never been a
compact clan-based political alliance.
Most of the influential clans have always been the
traditional supporters of the Katur family led by Mr Mohiuddin
since his debut in the national politics during the Zia era.
The PPP leader, Qadir Nawaz, belongs to the most numerous
Rizey clan and may put a damper on the vote bank of the Shahzada
but there are indications that the latter may withdraw in favour
of Mr Nawaz to ensure that the most important seat of the district
does not go to the subdivision.
The newcomer from the Mastuj subdivision has, besides others,
the strong backing of his Zondray clan and he may get support of
the councillors in the Garam Chashma valley.
Besides, a large number of contestants among the much-
scattered commoners are in the run this time.
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
ELECTIONEERING for the fifth phase of the local bodies
poll, scheduled for Aug 9, is in full swing in Chitral.
As the polls are being held on a non-party basis, inter-
ethnic, clan and region-based loyalties will overshadow the
outcome of the race.
There are over 1,000 candidates for the 432 councillor
seats in 24 union councils of the district. For 24 nazims and as
many naib nazims, over 50 pairs of contestants are in the run,
though a number of them have returned unopposed in the Garam
Chasma valley. Besides, about 250 women candidates are vying on
their reserved seats.
Local political bigwigs have already started preparing
ground for the last showdown in the contest for the district
Nazim's slot later on.
They include the former minister of state for tourism in Nawaz
Sharif's first tenure, Shahzada Mohiuddin, and Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto's one-time provincial minister, the septuagenarian Qadir
Nawaz, who has once again gone on a foray after remaining in the
political wilderness for more than two decades.
The newcomer to challenge the experienced politicians is
a former post master-general of the province, Sardar Ali Sardar
Aman.
The Shahzada has also fielded his son for a union council
nazim in Chitral and one of his close relatives, Shahzada
Sikandarul Mulk, is contesting for the nazim of Mastuj UC.
The regional rivalry between Mastuj subdivision and
Chitral will dominate the contest for the district nazim and
the only candidate from Mastuj, Sardar Ali, will have a
tough time from his opponents, belonging to lower Chitral, who
may bury their political hatchets to ally against the
bureaucrat-turned-politician if the political tide tilts in his
favour at any stage.
About 52 per cent of the people live in Chitral and the
rest in the most backward Mastuj subdivision. This area has seen
political deprivation in many forms: its district status was
reduced to that of a subdivision and during the Zia period the
only seat of the area in the provincial assembly was also
abolished.
A former princely state, Chitral, with a population of about
32,000, is inhabited by three types of clans, according to the
census report of 1998: Adamzadas, Arbabzadas and Faqir Miskeen.
The Adamzadas have eight sub-groups -- Katur (the
ex-ruling family), Khushwaqte, Rizey, Khaniye, Mohammad Bege,
Sangale, Khushamatey and Burushe.
Moreover, the following clans are important for their
political clout: Zondray, Khoshe, Bayike, Atam Bege, Dashmane,
Sheghniye and Khoshalbege.
The district, with an area of about 14,850 kilometres, is
sparsely populated and none of the clans is concentrated in any
particular constituency. Because of this, there has never been a
compact clan-based political alliance.
Most of the influential clans have always been the
traditional supporters of the Katur family led by Mr Mohiuddin
since his debut in the national politics during the Zia era.
The PPP leader, Qadir Nawaz, belongs to the most numerous
Rizey clan and may put a damper on the vote bank of the Shahzada
but there are indications that the latter may withdraw in favour
of Mr Nawaz to ensure that the most important seat of the district
does not go to the subdivision.
The newcomer from the Mastuj subdivision has, besides others,
the strong backing of his Zondray clan and he may get support of
the councillors in the Garam Chashma valley.
Besides, a large number of contestants among the much-
scattered commoners are in the run this time.
Chitral needs an all-weather route
DAWN February 17, 2002
========
COMMENT
-------
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
WITH the approach of winter every year, people in Chitral consider it
a part of their fate to endure innumerable communication-related problems,
for almost half of the year cut off completely from the outside world because
of the closure of Lowari Pass, which links the valley with other parts of the
country.
The 14,850-square-kilometre valley of Chitral, with a population of
over 330,000, is accessible by road only through its two high-altitude hilly
passes -- Lowari Pass at the height of 10,500 feet in the south of the
district and the 12,400-foot-high Shandur Pass on its northeast. From
December-end to May communication to and from the district becomes restricted
to the PIA air service, that too depending on weather.
For the last about 10 years, the people have been using a highly
dilapidated unmetalled road through the Kunar province of Afghanistan
for reaching Peshawar via the Nawa Pass. But because of the changed
situation in the neighbouring country, the Kunar-Nawa pass road has also
been closed this year and the Chitral Scouts have sealed the border near
Arandu after the closure of Lowari Pass.
And to rub salt into the wounds, the PIA with the onset of winter this
year has announced that it will give its Peshawar-Chitral-Peshawar route to
the private sector on contract to, what the airline said, lessen its financial
loses. The decision has created resentment in the valley, where people term
the decision irresponsible and say that at a time when the area is
confronted with innumerable communication-related problems, the act of the
national flag-carrier would further multiply their miseries and create unrest
in the area.
Talking to Dawn on telephones from Chitral they urged President Pervez
Musharraf to intervene in the matter as it would totally cripple the
already haggard communication system of the area, particularly
in the winter when the people solely become dependent on air travel.
The regional office of the PIA in Peshawar has decided to abolish its
services to Saidu Sharif, Parachinar, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, besides
giving the Peshawar-Chitral route to the private sector.
The local people fear that the decision will hit them hard as the
private party will increase fares and resort to black marketing of the
tickets in winter, besides mismanaging the whole affairs. They recall the
22 years of agony which they gone through between 1965 and 1987
when the PIA air ticketing, cargo handling, etc., were in the hand of a
local private organization.
But when contacted, PIA General Manager S.M.Imran Gardezi expressed
his ignorance about the reports which had originated in Peshawar.
"No such decision has been taken at all, and I categorically
contradict the report," he said, adding that normal flight schedules,
however, could be changed according to the requirements but as far as
the question of privatization was concerned it is a long process and
it is not possible that one route of the airline could be given to
the private sector.
When the PIA had not opened its sales office in Chitral, all
the ticketing, cargo handling, etc., were in the hand of a local
private organization from 1965 to 1987. The people were angry
because of rampant mismanagement, nepotism
and black marketing of tickets during the period, which led to
frequent protest demonstrations in the area. The situation had so
deteriorated that the matter was taken up at the National Assembly
which passed two resolutions, asking the PIA to establish its own
office in Chitral to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
Subsequently, the PIA district sales office was opened in the
district in 1987.
The district should not be treated at par with other parts of
the country where road facilities are available round-the-year
whereas Chitral remained completely cut off from the rest of the
country in the winter, Chitral tehsil Nazim Amir Khan Mir said.
"The decision of the PIA, reportedly taken because of financial
loss, is ridiculous," Chitral Welfare Association's general
secretary Advocate Sam Saam Ali Khan said, adding that it was the
alleged corruption among the high-ups which had drained the resources
of the organization.
A resident of Ovirik village in Garamchamshma, Mohammad Afzal,
said: "We live in the 21st century, the age of motorways, but it is
disappointing that people in Chitral still remain imprisoned for
half of the year in the valley and the government has failed to
mitigate their sufferings."
The decision would affect the people, particularly those living
in the far-flung villages of the valley. The government should bear
the losses, if any, and provide better air travel facilities to the
people in winter until an all-weather route is constructed linking
the area with other parts of the country, a local trader said.
About the unending communication-related problems of the
district, District Nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin told Dawn that he
had recently taken up the issues with President Pervez
Musharraf, NWFP governor and the corps commander of Peshawar. He
said the army's district supporting team had also assured him that
C-130 planes and helicopters services from Peshawar to
Chitral would be operated after the closure of the Lowari Pass,
besides the normal 14 flights a week Fokker service to the district.
He said the provincial government should take steps keeping in view the
peculiar geography-related problems of the area.
It has been a longstanding demand of the people of Chitral to
the successive governments to construct an all-weather road to
the valley. In the early 1970s, the first PPP government had
sanctioned the Lowari tunnel project, work on which was started
in 1975 from the Gujar post in the Dir district at an elevation of
7,880 feet.
During 1976-77, the Frontier Works Organization had completed
about 2,000-foot of digging work on the tunnel from the southern
side in collaboration with the Lowari Tunnel Organization.
The then coalition government of Maulana Mufti Mahmood and
Abdul Wali Khan in the Frontier being at loggerheads with
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the project soon fell prey to their
political discord. Subsequently, work on the site was abandoned
after spending millions of rupees.
With the passage of time, the estimated cost of the project
has gone up. In 1994, the National Assembly was informed that the
cost of the project -- according to the National Highway
Authority's estimate -- had touched a three-billion-rupee mark
from Rs500 million in 1975. Since then the project has remained in
cold storage.
Keeping in view the hardships of the area, President Pervez
Musharraf, at the conclusion of the Shandur polo tournament in
June last, had promised the people that work on the project would
start in 2002. Earlier, on April 27, 2001, NWFP Governor
Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah had asked a foreign-funded NGO and
the European Union to help in the phase-wise construction of the
tunnel.
Despite all these promises and assurances there seem no prospects
of solution to the imbroglio.
========
COMMENT
-------
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
WITH the approach of winter every year, people in Chitral consider it
a part of their fate to endure innumerable communication-related problems,
for almost half of the year cut off completely from the outside world because
of the closure of Lowari Pass, which links the valley with other parts of the
country.
The 14,850-square-kilometre valley of Chitral, with a population of
over 330,000, is accessible by road only through its two high-altitude hilly
passes -- Lowari Pass at the height of 10,500 feet in the south of the
district and the 12,400-foot-high Shandur Pass on its northeast. From
December-end to May communication to and from the district becomes restricted
to the PIA air service, that too depending on weather.
For the last about 10 years, the people have been using a highly
dilapidated unmetalled road through the Kunar province of Afghanistan
for reaching Peshawar via the Nawa Pass. But because of the changed
situation in the neighbouring country, the Kunar-Nawa pass road has also
been closed this year and the Chitral Scouts have sealed the border near
Arandu after the closure of Lowari Pass.
And to rub salt into the wounds, the PIA with the onset of winter this
year has announced that it will give its Peshawar-Chitral-Peshawar route to
the private sector on contract to, what the airline said, lessen its financial
loses. The decision has created resentment in the valley, where people term
the decision irresponsible and say that at a time when the area is
confronted with innumerable communication-related problems, the act of the
national flag-carrier would further multiply their miseries and create unrest
in the area.
Talking to Dawn on telephones from Chitral they urged President Pervez
Musharraf to intervene in the matter as it would totally cripple the
already haggard communication system of the area, particularly
in the winter when the people solely become dependent on air travel.
The regional office of the PIA in Peshawar has decided to abolish its
services to Saidu Sharif, Parachinar, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, besides
giving the Peshawar-Chitral route to the private sector.
The local people fear that the decision will hit them hard as the
private party will increase fares and resort to black marketing of the
tickets in winter, besides mismanaging the whole affairs. They recall the
22 years of agony which they gone through between 1965 and 1987
when the PIA air ticketing, cargo handling, etc., were in the hand of a
local private organization.
But when contacted, PIA General Manager S.M.Imran Gardezi expressed
his ignorance about the reports which had originated in Peshawar.
"No such decision has been taken at all, and I categorically
contradict the report," he said, adding that normal flight schedules,
however, could be changed according to the requirements but as far as
the question of privatization was concerned it is a long process and
it is not possible that one route of the airline could be given to
the private sector.
When the PIA had not opened its sales office in Chitral, all
the ticketing, cargo handling, etc., were in the hand of a local
private organization from 1965 to 1987. The people were angry
because of rampant mismanagement, nepotism
and black marketing of tickets during the period, which led to
frequent protest demonstrations in the area. The situation had so
deteriorated that the matter was taken up at the National Assembly
which passed two resolutions, asking the PIA to establish its own
office in Chitral to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
Subsequently, the PIA district sales office was opened in the
district in 1987.
The district should not be treated at par with other parts of
the country where road facilities are available round-the-year
whereas Chitral remained completely cut off from the rest of the
country in the winter, Chitral tehsil Nazim Amir Khan Mir said.
"The decision of the PIA, reportedly taken because of financial
loss, is ridiculous," Chitral Welfare Association's general
secretary Advocate Sam Saam Ali Khan said, adding that it was the
alleged corruption among the high-ups which had drained the resources
of the organization.
A resident of Ovirik village in Garamchamshma, Mohammad Afzal,
said: "We live in the 21st century, the age of motorways, but it is
disappointing that people in Chitral still remain imprisoned for
half of the year in the valley and the government has failed to
mitigate their sufferings."
The decision would affect the people, particularly those living
in the far-flung villages of the valley. The government should bear
the losses, if any, and provide better air travel facilities to the
people in winter until an all-weather route is constructed linking
the area with other parts of the country, a local trader said.
About the unending communication-related problems of the
district, District Nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin told Dawn that he
had recently taken up the issues with President Pervez
Musharraf, NWFP governor and the corps commander of Peshawar. He
said the army's district supporting team had also assured him that
C-130 planes and helicopters services from Peshawar to
Chitral would be operated after the closure of the Lowari Pass,
besides the normal 14 flights a week Fokker service to the district.
He said the provincial government should take steps keeping in view the
peculiar geography-related problems of the area.
It has been a longstanding demand of the people of Chitral to
the successive governments to construct an all-weather road to
the valley. In the early 1970s, the first PPP government had
sanctioned the Lowari tunnel project, work on which was started
in 1975 from the Gujar post in the Dir district at an elevation of
7,880 feet.
During 1976-77, the Frontier Works Organization had completed
about 2,000-foot of digging work on the tunnel from the southern
side in collaboration with the Lowari Tunnel Organization.
The then coalition government of Maulana Mufti Mahmood and
Abdul Wali Khan in the Frontier being at loggerheads with
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the project soon fell prey to their
political discord. Subsequently, work on the site was abandoned
after spending millions of rupees.
With the passage of time, the estimated cost of the project
has gone up. In 1994, the National Assembly was informed that the
cost of the project -- according to the National Highway
Authority's estimate -- had touched a three-billion-rupee mark
from Rs500 million in 1975. Since then the project has remained in
cold storage.
Keeping in view the hardships of the area, President Pervez
Musharraf, at the conclusion of the Shandur polo tournament in
June last, had promised the people that work on the project would
start in 2002. Earlier, on April 27, 2001, NWFP Governor
Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah had asked a foreign-funded NGO and
the European Union to help in the phase-wise construction of the
tunnel.
Despite all these promises and assurances there seem no prospects
of solution to the imbroglio.
Women's emancipation through education
Dawn (July 21, 2001)
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
Unlike their counterparts in the neighbouring districts, women
particularly those in the far-flung villages of Chitral, are actively
preparing for the forthcoming local bodies' poll and 275 of them have
submitted nomination forms for their reserved seats.
Although the religio-political forces had tried to demonstrate their
might against the women intending to take part in the elections by
threatening them of social boycott but disappointment has been writ large
on their manoeuvres after their call fell on deaf ears.
Irrespective of political and religious dogmatism, the most important
element in women's emancipation has always been their awareness about their
basic rights and this can only be achieved after women in a society are
adequately educated. In most villages of the countryside people still resist
sending their daughter to schools.
Female literacy rate in Chitral was abysmally low at 2.3 per cent in
1981 which rose to 22.09 till the 1998 census. Although it is still far
behind yet the trend of change in the intercensal increase has been very
encouraging.
In most of the villages in the valley, school attendance of girls
below 20 years of age is now almost 100 per cent.
Chitral has been the most backward area of the country mainly due
to its geographical settings as it remains completely cut-off from rest of
the country for almost six months in winter due to snowfall on the 10,400
feet high Lowari pass. Internally the infrastructures are even more pathetic
and the successive governments have always hoodwinked the people in terms of
developmental works in the area.
Despite all these odds, it has moved ahead on the path of education
attainment compared to the nearby areas---for example Lower and Upper Dir
districts.
When the state was merged with Pakistan there was only one school
established by the Mehtar, Sir Nasir-ul-Mulk, in the 1930s. At present
Chitral, with a population of about 320,000, has over 550 schools
including 181 for females besides a number of privately-run institutions
for girls.
But if the number of educational institutions were the only criterion
for the growth of literacy in any area, the two districts of Dir could have
been far ahead. The only element of change in the thinking of people towards the
continuing awareness has been the importance which they attach to
education.
According to the 1998 census Chitral had 652 schools and five colleges
while Upper Dir district's population was 576,000 and it had 978 educational
institutions. Similarly, Lower Dir district with a population of 717,000
had 1,290 schools, colleges.
The school enrolment rate for girls in Chitral was 33.30 per cent
while it was 8.8 per cent and 12.01 per cent respectively for Upper and
Lower Dir districts. Subsequently female literacy rate has been 22.09 in
Chitral, 6.1 per cent in Upper Dir and 12.25 per cent in Lower Dir according
to the census of 1998.
In Chitral, the most important aspect of the progress, as far as female
education is concerned, has been the marked change in people's perception
about the value of education.
The centuries-old notion reflective of a tribal mindset is fast being
eroded away and the people are accepting the idea that if a man has two
children---a son and a daughter---and if he could only afford to educate
either of them, he should prefer to educate the latter. This type of
thinking will, in a long run, bring far-reaching impact to the idea what
we call women's freedom.
This has resulted due a combination of factors most important
of them being the receptive response of the populace in popularizing women's education.
By Zar Alam Khan Rizakhail
Unlike their counterparts in the neighbouring districts, women
particularly those in the far-flung villages of Chitral, are actively
preparing for the forthcoming local bodies' poll and 275 of them have
submitted nomination forms for their reserved seats.
Although the religio-political forces had tried to demonstrate their
might against the women intending to take part in the elections by
threatening them of social boycott but disappointment has been writ large
on their manoeuvres after their call fell on deaf ears.
Irrespective of political and religious dogmatism, the most important
element in women's emancipation has always been their awareness about their
basic rights and this can only be achieved after women in a society are
adequately educated. In most villages of the countryside people still resist
sending their daughter to schools.
Female literacy rate in Chitral was abysmally low at 2.3 per cent in
1981 which rose to 22.09 till the 1998 census. Although it is still far
behind yet the trend of change in the intercensal increase has been very
encouraging.
In most of the villages in the valley, school attendance of girls
below 20 years of age is now almost 100 per cent.
Chitral has been the most backward area of the country mainly due
to its geographical settings as it remains completely cut-off from rest of
the country for almost six months in winter due to snowfall on the 10,400
feet high Lowari pass. Internally the infrastructures are even more pathetic
and the successive governments have always hoodwinked the people in terms of
developmental works in the area.
Despite all these odds, it has moved ahead on the path of education
attainment compared to the nearby areas---for example Lower and Upper Dir
districts.
When the state was merged with Pakistan there was only one school
established by the Mehtar, Sir Nasir-ul-Mulk, in the 1930s. At present
Chitral, with a population of about 320,000, has over 550 schools
including 181 for females besides a number of privately-run institutions
for girls.
But if the number of educational institutions were the only criterion
for the growth of literacy in any area, the two districts of Dir could have
been far ahead. The only element of change in the thinking of people towards the
continuing awareness has been the importance which they attach to
education.
According to the 1998 census Chitral had 652 schools and five colleges
while Upper Dir district's population was 576,000 and it had 978 educational
institutions. Similarly, Lower Dir district with a population of 717,000
had 1,290 schools, colleges.
The school enrolment rate for girls in Chitral was 33.30 per cent
while it was 8.8 per cent and 12.01 per cent respectively for Upper and
Lower Dir districts. Subsequently female literacy rate has been 22.09 in
Chitral, 6.1 per cent in Upper Dir and 12.25 per cent in Lower Dir according
to the census of 1998.
In Chitral, the most important aspect of the progress, as far as female
education is concerned, has been the marked change in people's perception
about the value of education.
The centuries-old notion reflective of a tribal mindset is fast being
eroded away and the people are accepting the idea that if a man has two
children---a son and a daughter---and if he could only afford to educate
either of them, he should prefer to educate the latter. This type of
thinking will, in a long run, bring far-reaching impact to the idea what
we call women's freedom.
This has resulted due a combination of factors most important
of them being the receptive response of the populace in popularizing women's education.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Body on women's rights formed in Chitral
CHITRAL: The Regional Women Empowerment Project, a project of AKRSP Chitral organized a one day multi stakeholder's forum with an aim to gather all the major Chitral based stakeholder organizations in a common platform to highlight the various dimensions of women rights violations in Chitral. The event was attended by a large number both men and women representing various Govt, Non government and Civil Society Organization from across Chitral District. The gathering, at the end of the day, devised recommendations to address women right violations around four themes i.e. legal rights, political rights, social and economic rights. The Regional Women Empowerment Project would follow these recommendations in its current three years phase as action plan. Regional Program Manager AKRSP, Eng. Sardar Ayub while addressing the gathering emphasized on joining hands in the struggle of women empowerment, in turn, reducing gender inequality in Chitral. He said that empowerment of women has its origin in Islam and the culture of Chitral is well equipped with examples of role models and that it¢s not a foreign agenda that AKRSP and its projects have been following since decades. Dr Inayatullah Faizi, a renowned scholar gave an overview on the history and dimensions of women empowerment in Chitral during different ages. Shah Karez, a local development practitioner and educationist, who has also been working in Afghanistan and Iraq with different organizations, concluded the event. In his concluding remarks, Shah Karez said that Education, though a long term process, is the only solution to all the rout causes of the imbalances in the society in terms of gender.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Preparations in full swing for Aga Khan's visit to Chitral
Report R.A. Jafar, Booni
About 500 animals, including a dozen of yaks, donated by the residents of the far-off Boroghil valley in connection with the forthcoming visit of His Highness the Aga Khan to Chitral were auctioned at a ceremony in Booni.
A large number of people from all sections of society participated in the ceremony held at Lasht in Booni. Prominent among those were MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin, MPA Ghulam Mohammad and notables of the area.
Except a few, all the animals were sold out on the occasion. The buyers included butchers who had come from as far as Drosh.
The animals were donated by the residents of Boroghil as nazrana for the preparations to welcome the spiritual leader of Ismailis to Chitral.
On the occasion, the MNA announced a donation of Rs100,000 and the MPA said he would donate Rs50,000.
Meanhile, preparations to welcome the Aga Khan to the valley are in full swing at all the four venues where he will meet members of his jamaat during the visit.The Aga Khan is expected to speak to the Ismailis at Booni, Brep, Parabek and Mashad in Garam Chashma. Venue for the congregation of the people and special rooms called green houses for the short stay of the Aga Khan are being constructed in the four villages.
The people of Mashad in garam Chashma have bought 60 jireeps of land and constructed a 'green house' on it from their own resources for accommodating the people who will gather to have a glimpse of the Aga Khan.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:14 AM 0 comments
Labels: aga khan, chitral, nazrana
Saturday, October 11, 2008
MNA justifies supporting PPP
By Our Correspondent
CHITRAL: MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin has said that he supported the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the presidential election to ensure continuation of the development process initiated in the district.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said that nothing was dearer to him than the development of his constituency and it was due to this reason that he returned to the lower house of the parliament for the fourth time.
Mr Mohyuddin was elected as an MNA from Chitral on the PML-Q ticket.
He said that due to its enormous size and mountainous topography, the district was far backward and provision of basic infrastructures was yet a dream and they needed uplift funds.
The MNA said that a number of development projects had been started during the government of the PML-Q which included Golen Gol hydel project, Booni-Shandur road, construction of truck-able bridge at Mastuj and extension of the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) to the district.
He said the present government had decided to continue the ongoing development projects in Chitral for which he was grateful to President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani.
“I have obtained Benazir Income Support Cards from the federal government, which will be equally distributed among the 24 union councils,” he said and added that the cards would be awarded to deserving women irrespective of their political affiliations and a transparent way would be adopted in this process.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:26 AM 0 comments
Timely completion of uplift projects ordered
DCO Mutasim Billah Shah has directed the officials of different devolved departments to ensure completion of development projects within the stipulated time while keeping the quality of the work.
Presiding over a meeting of the officers in connection with the preparation of annual development programmes for the next fiscal year here on Saturday, he said that no laxity would be tolerated as the inordinate delay in completion of projects caused problems for the people.
A number of development schemes were discussed on the occasion keeping in view their modalities for the area.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:25 AM 0 comments
Impersonator arrested
Chitral police arrested a person impersonating himself as a police constable here on Saturday. SHO of Chitral police Inspector Mohammad Khalid said he spotted the suspect, Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Lotkoh valley, wearing police uniform in the bazaar.
He said the person was arrested on the spot and his remand has been obtained from the local court and investigations are in progress.
Posted by Yarkhun at 6:25 AM 0 comments
Friday, October 10, 2008
Opening of Lowari tunnel for light traffic demanded
PESHAWAR: A 15-member delegation of Chitral Students Welfare Association and notables of Chitral led by NWFP minister for population welfare called on NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani and discussed with him various issues related to Chitral.
The delegation informed the governor that people of Chitral used to travel via Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency during winter seasons after the blockade of Lowari Top due to heavy snowfall. But this year it was not possible to travel through Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency because of ongoing operations against the militants in the tribal areas, they said.
The delegation demanded that arrangements should be made to open the under-construction Lowari tunnel for light traffic on temporary basis during the coming winter season.
The governor told the delegation that he would contact the federal government and National Highway Authority to open the tunnel for light traffic on temporary basis soon after the excavation work was over.
The delegation demanded that various valley roads of Chitral including Chitral-Garam Chasma Road, Drosh-Arandu Road, Booni- Yarkhun Road, Booni-Torkhow Road should be widened.
The delegation told the governor that Chitral was the only safe and feasible route to connect Pakistan with Central Asian Countries to which the governor responded that correspondence with concerned quarters to that affect had already been under taken and hopefully there would soon be a leap forward in that regard.
The delegation proposed to strengthen Chitral police and Chitral border police so as to keep vigilant eye on the bordering areas to avoid any possible incursion of militants into Chitral. The governor said that Chitral was the most peaceful area of the province and the government would take every possible step to maintain it peaceful environment.
On this occasion, members of Chitral Students Association demand that reserved seats for Chitrali students in Khyber Medical College should be increased and one seat for Chitrali students be reserved in each department of Peshawar University and one seat in the Women Medical College.
The governor termed the demand of the students just and assured them of taking necessary steps in that regard.
The provincial minister invited the governor to pay a visit to Chitral, which the governor accepted and assured him that he would visit Chitral at the earliest.--APP
Posted by Yarkhun at 11:13 AM 0 comments
Shortage of technical staff mars uplift in Chitral
Report Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The shortage of technical staff in the works and services department has affected pace of development activities and projects worth millions of rupees have been put at stake, sources said on Friday.
The sources said that the post of deputy director of water and sanitation was lying vacant for the last six months while three posts of assistant directors and seven sub-engineers were vacant for the last one year.
The apathy of the government could be gauged from the fact that the department was being run by only a single sub-engineer for execution of two projects worth Rs100 million at Drosh and Booni, the sources maintained.
There were scores of other small and medium sized water supply and sanitation projects work on which had either been stopped or being carried out using substandard material due to the absence of competent engineering staff, the sources further said.
They said that due to shortage of staff projects of roads and buildings were being affected adversely, as only three sub-engineers were presently available to cover the whole district, adding the district was also going to be deprived of its due share in the annual development programme (ADP) for the forthcoming fiscal year.
They said that many projects of vital importance had either been dropped or could not be completed within the stipulated time.
They said that detailed estimates of different schemes were to be submitted to the provincial government to be included in the draft proposals of the ADP but the capacity of the works and services department was not that much to prepare the documents by December this year.
When contacted, district nazim Maghfirat Shah said he had been trying his best to fill the posts but without success.
He alleged that the provincial government was turning a deaf ear to his requests as the departments provided basic and primary infrastructure facilities to the people and any inertia at the government level could not be afforded.
Mr Shah said that area-wise Chitral was the biggest district in the province and thus needed more manpower to timely complete the development projects and repair and maintain the existing road and water supply infrastructure.
He said that the nazims of various union councils had even warned to lock out the district offices of the departments if the vacant posts were not filled within two weeks.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:21 AM 0 comments
Labels: chitral, uplift, zar alam
About 500 animals, including a dozen of yaks, donated by the residents of the far-off Boroghil valley in connection with the forthcoming visit of His Highness the Aga Khan to Chitral were auctioned at a ceremony in Booni.
A large number of people from all sections of society participated in the ceremony held at Lasht in Booni. Prominent among those were MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin, MPA Ghulam Mohammad and notables of the area.
Except a few, all the animals were sold out on the occasion. The buyers included butchers who had come from as far as Drosh.
The animals were donated by the residents of Boroghil as nazrana for the preparations to welcome the spiritual leader of Ismailis to Chitral.
On the occasion, the MNA announced a donation of Rs100,000 and the MPA said he would donate Rs50,000.
Meanhile, preparations to welcome the Aga Khan to the valley are in full swing at all the four venues where he will meet members of his jamaat during the visit.The Aga Khan is expected to speak to the Ismailis at Booni, Brep, Parabek and Mashad in Garam Chashma. Venue for the congregation of the people and special rooms called green houses for the short stay of the Aga Khan are being constructed in the four villages.
The people of Mashad in garam Chashma have bought 60 jireeps of land and constructed a 'green house' on it from their own resources for accommodating the people who will gather to have a glimpse of the Aga Khan.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:14 AM 0 comments
Labels: aga khan, chitral, nazrana
Saturday, October 11, 2008
MNA justifies supporting PPP
By Our Correspondent
CHITRAL: MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin has said that he supported the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the presidential election to ensure continuation of the development process initiated in the district.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said that nothing was dearer to him than the development of his constituency and it was due to this reason that he returned to the lower house of the parliament for the fourth time.
Mr Mohyuddin was elected as an MNA from Chitral on the PML-Q ticket.
He said that due to its enormous size and mountainous topography, the district was far backward and provision of basic infrastructures was yet a dream and they needed uplift funds.
The MNA said that a number of development projects had been started during the government of the PML-Q which included Golen Gol hydel project, Booni-Shandur road, construction of truck-able bridge at Mastuj and extension of the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) to the district.
He said the present government had decided to continue the ongoing development projects in Chitral for which he was grateful to President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani.
“I have obtained Benazir Income Support Cards from the federal government, which will be equally distributed among the 24 union councils,” he said and added that the cards would be awarded to deserving women irrespective of their political affiliations and a transparent way would be adopted in this process.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:26 AM 0 comments
Timely completion of uplift projects ordered
DCO Mutasim Billah Shah has directed the officials of different devolved departments to ensure completion of development projects within the stipulated time while keeping the quality of the work.
Presiding over a meeting of the officers in connection with the preparation of annual development programmes for the next fiscal year here on Saturday, he said that no laxity would be tolerated as the inordinate delay in completion of projects caused problems for the people.
A number of development schemes were discussed on the occasion keeping in view their modalities for the area.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:25 AM 0 comments
Impersonator arrested
Chitral police arrested a person impersonating himself as a police constable here on Saturday. SHO of Chitral police Inspector Mohammad Khalid said he spotted the suspect, Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Lotkoh valley, wearing police uniform in the bazaar.
He said the person was arrested on the spot and his remand has been obtained from the local court and investigations are in progress.
Posted by Yarkhun at 6:25 AM 0 comments
Friday, October 10, 2008
Opening of Lowari tunnel for light traffic demanded
PESHAWAR: A 15-member delegation of Chitral Students Welfare Association and notables of Chitral led by NWFP minister for population welfare called on NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani and discussed with him various issues related to Chitral.
The delegation informed the governor that people of Chitral used to travel via Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency during winter seasons after the blockade of Lowari Top due to heavy snowfall. But this year it was not possible to travel through Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency because of ongoing operations against the militants in the tribal areas, they said.
The delegation demanded that arrangements should be made to open the under-construction Lowari tunnel for light traffic on temporary basis during the coming winter season.
The governor told the delegation that he would contact the federal government and National Highway Authority to open the tunnel for light traffic on temporary basis soon after the excavation work was over.
The delegation demanded that various valley roads of Chitral including Chitral-Garam Chasma Road, Drosh-Arandu Road, Booni- Yarkhun Road, Booni-Torkhow Road should be widened.
The delegation told the governor that Chitral was the only safe and feasible route to connect Pakistan with Central Asian Countries to which the governor responded that correspondence with concerned quarters to that affect had already been under taken and hopefully there would soon be a leap forward in that regard.
The delegation proposed to strengthen Chitral police and Chitral border police so as to keep vigilant eye on the bordering areas to avoid any possible incursion of militants into Chitral. The governor said that Chitral was the most peaceful area of the province and the government would take every possible step to maintain it peaceful environment.
On this occasion, members of Chitral Students Association demand that reserved seats for Chitrali students in Khyber Medical College should be increased and one seat for Chitrali students be reserved in each department of Peshawar University and one seat in the Women Medical College.
The governor termed the demand of the students just and assured them of taking necessary steps in that regard.
The provincial minister invited the governor to pay a visit to Chitral, which the governor accepted and assured him that he would visit Chitral at the earliest.--APP
Posted by Yarkhun at 11:13 AM 0 comments
Shortage of technical staff mars uplift in Chitral
Report Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The shortage of technical staff in the works and services department has affected pace of development activities and projects worth millions of rupees have been put at stake, sources said on Friday.
The sources said that the post of deputy director of water and sanitation was lying vacant for the last six months while three posts of assistant directors and seven sub-engineers were vacant for the last one year.
The apathy of the government could be gauged from the fact that the department was being run by only a single sub-engineer for execution of two projects worth Rs100 million at Drosh and Booni, the sources maintained.
There were scores of other small and medium sized water supply and sanitation projects work on which had either been stopped or being carried out using substandard material due to the absence of competent engineering staff, the sources further said.
They said that due to shortage of staff projects of roads and buildings were being affected adversely, as only three sub-engineers were presently available to cover the whole district, adding the district was also going to be deprived of its due share in the annual development programme (ADP) for the forthcoming fiscal year.
They said that many projects of vital importance had either been dropped or could not be completed within the stipulated time.
They said that detailed estimates of different schemes were to be submitted to the provincial government to be included in the draft proposals of the ADP but the capacity of the works and services department was not that much to prepare the documents by December this year.
When contacted, district nazim Maghfirat Shah said he had been trying his best to fill the posts but without success.
He alleged that the provincial government was turning a deaf ear to his requests as the departments provided basic and primary infrastructure facilities to the people and any inertia at the government level could not be afforded.
Mr Shah said that area-wise Chitral was the biggest district in the province and thus needed more manpower to timely complete the development projects and repair and maintain the existing road and water supply infrastructure.
He said that the nazims of various union councils had even warned to lock out the district offices of the departments if the vacant posts were not filled within two weeks.
Posted by Yarkhun at 9:21 AM 0 comments
Labels: chitral, uplift, zar alam
Friday, October 10, 2008
No technical staff no development in Chitral
Report Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The shortage of technical staff in the works and services department has affected pace of development activities and projects worth millions of rupees have been put at stake, sources said on Friday.
The sources said that the post of deputy director of water and sanitation was lying vacant for the last six months while three posts of assistant directors and seven sub-engineers were vacant for the last one year.
The apathy of the government could be gauged from the fact that the department was being run by only a single sub-engineer for execution of two projects worth Rs100 million at Drosh and Booni, the sources maintained.
There were scores of other small and medium sized water supply and sanitation projects work on which had either been stopped or being carried out using substandard material due to the absence of competent engineering staff, the sources further said.
They said that due to shortage of staff projects of roads and buildings were being affected adversely, as only three sub-engineers were presently available to cover the whole district, adding the district was also going to be deprived of its due share in the annual development programme (ADP) for the forthcoming fiscal year.
They said that many projects of vital importance had either been dropped or could not be completed within the stipulated time.
They said that detailed estimates of different schemes were to be submitted to the provincial government to be included in the draft proposals of the ADP but the capacity of the works and services department was not that much to prepare the documents by December this year.
When contacted, district nazim Maghfirat Shah said he had been trying his best to fill the posts but without success.
He alleged that the provincial government was turning a deaf ear to his requests as the departments provided basic and primary infrastructure facilities to the people and any inertia at the government level could not be afforded.
Mr Shah said that area-wise Chitral was the biggest district in the province and thus needed more manpower to timely complete the development projects and repair and maintain the existing road and water supply infrastructure.
He said that the nazims of various union councils had even warned to lock out the district offices of the departments if the vacant posts were not filled within two weeks.
CHITRAL: The shortage of technical staff in the works and services department has affected pace of development activities and projects worth millions of rupees have been put at stake, sources said on Friday.
The sources said that the post of deputy director of water and sanitation was lying vacant for the last six months while three posts of assistant directors and seven sub-engineers were vacant for the last one year.
The apathy of the government could be gauged from the fact that the department was being run by only a single sub-engineer for execution of two projects worth Rs100 million at Drosh and Booni, the sources maintained.
There were scores of other small and medium sized water supply and sanitation projects work on which had either been stopped or being carried out using substandard material due to the absence of competent engineering staff, the sources further said.
They said that due to shortage of staff projects of roads and buildings were being affected adversely, as only three sub-engineers were presently available to cover the whole district, adding the district was also going to be deprived of its due share in the annual development programme (ADP) for the forthcoming fiscal year.
They said that many projects of vital importance had either been dropped or could not be completed within the stipulated time.
They said that detailed estimates of different schemes were to be submitted to the provincial government to be included in the draft proposals of the ADP but the capacity of the works and services department was not that much to prepare the documents by December this year.
When contacted, district nazim Maghfirat Shah said he had been trying his best to fill the posts but without success.
He alleged that the provincial government was turning a deaf ear to his requests as the departments provided basic and primary infrastructure facilities to the people and any inertia at the government level could not be afforded.
Mr Shah said that area-wise Chitral was the biggest district in the province and thus needed more manpower to timely complete the development projects and repair and maintain the existing road and water supply infrastructure.
He said that the nazims of various union councils had even warned to lock out the district offices of the departments if the vacant posts were not filled within two weeks.
Bajaur blockade to hurt Chitralis too
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Nestled among the Hindukush mountains, the district of Chitral has so far remained unaffected by the war on terrorism. But in the coming winter the Chitralis are likely to be locked up in their rugged valley due to the blockade of the Kunar-Bajaur route which they have been using as an alternative to the over 10,000-foot-high Lowari Pass from December to May every year.
When the Lowari road connecting Chitral with other parts of the country remains closed due to hundreds of feet deep snow for about five months in winter, the people of the district take the alternative route via Afghanistan’s Kunar province and enter the Bajaur Agency via the Nawa pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to reach other parts of the country. However, the ongoing military operation has made Bajaur a no-go area this year.
To avoid being completely cut-off from rest of the world, the residents of Chitral have demanded that the government should make special arrangements for resolving their communication-related problems before the closure of the only road linking the valley with the rest of the country via the Lowari Pass.
In this regard, they stressed the need to increase the number of PIA flights from Peshawar and Islamabad besides starting a helicopter service like one launched in 1996 between upper Dir and Drosh in Chitral by the then NWFP government.
They warned that if the PIA suspended the Islamabad-Chitral flights on the pretext of unavailability of passengers this year again, they would launch a protest movement against the government.
It may be noted that the PIA had launched its Chitral service from the federal capital in June last year on the repeated demands of the residents to lessen their communication problems besides facilitating foreign tourists visiting the area. However, the national-flag carrier suspended the operation in November 2007 citing lack of passengers. The Chitralis, however, alleged that some elements in the PIA were opposed to the initiative and had tried from the very beginning to sabotage the service by denying tickets to the intending passengers and inflicting losses on the corporation.
They said the PIA was also to be blamed for the lack of passengers on the Islamabad-Chitral flight because neither it had publicised the launch of the service nor facilitated the intending passengers in getting tickets. Besides, to discourage the passengers it kept the fare at Rs3,600 against Rs2,900 for Gilgit which is situated at a longer distance from Islamabad than Chitral. The people of Chitral pointed out that the return flights from their town always remained full to capacity while ticket seekers in the PIA’s Rawalpindi and Islamabad offices were turned away on one pretext or the other.
They called upon their public representatives to take up the issue with the government to ensure uninterrupted flights to the district till the under-construction Lowari tunnel becomes operational.
Posted by ZAK at 8:26 PM 0 comments
Upper Chitral residents to pay bills locally
PESHAWAR: On the directives of NWFP Minister for Population Weflare Saleem Khan, the consumers of Upper Chitral will have the facility of paying electricity bills at local branch of post offices. Earlier, the residents of the far-flung areas of Upper Chitral had to travel long enough to the specific branches of scheduled banks to pay the electricity bills. To pay a bill of almost Rs 50 or Rs100, the people of the far-flung areas had to spend three to four hundred rupees every month in respect of travel charges which caused great trouble for the poor masses of the area besides the wastage of time.
The people of the area have expressed pleasure and thanked the provincial minister for taking keen interest in solving their problems. On this occasion, the provincial minister in a statement issued from Peshawar said solving the basic problems of the people of Chitral was the top-most priority of the present government for which he would strive at every level. The minister appreciated the efforts of Post Master General and Managing Director SHYDO in resolving the issues of the consumers of Upper Chitral.--PPI
Posted by ZAK at 8:23 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Chitral colleges lack hostel facilities
By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: Lack of hostel facilities in the public sector colleges has forced a good number of students to discontinue their studies, the parents complained.
Talking to this correspondent on Tuesday, they said for the population of about 500,000, there were only four colleges in the district. One of which is situated at Booni (upper Chitral) and the rest is located in the district headquarters.
The parents regretted that the government degree college Booni faced the acute shortage of teaching staff as a result of which the students thronged to the colleges in the Chitral city. The total capacity of the five hostels of the three colleges in the city is said to be about 400 while the strength of the students enrolled in the colleges is about 2,400.
The government started second shifts in two of the colleges last year to ensure the admission of more students but these students could not avail of the hostel facility, they said.
Because of absence of the hostel facility, the students from the distant villages of Chitral preferred to not take admission in the colleges.
As for the female colleges, the situation is more dismal as there is only one public sector college in the district and the total capacity of its hostel is about 50 which is too short to cater to the needs of the whole district.
Many parents from the upper Chitral said that due to the unavailability of hostel facility, they were forced to get the admission of their daughters cancelled and take them back to their villages.
The parents said that although colleges in the private sector offered hostel facilities but a very few parents could afford to bear the high expenses.
According to them, the private colleges’ hostels are overburdened and the boarders are forced to live in congested atmosphere. A boarder of a college hostel said the capacity of his room is four but six students live there as the college administration has to oblige more number of students to save their futures.
Meanwhile, sources in the higher education department said that for the last fifteen years, not a single hostel had been added to the colleges while the number of students had increased manifold.
Posted by ZAK at 9:25 AM 0 comments
Over 75,000 children to be administered polio drops
In a meeting held here on Tuesday with Chitral DCO Mutasim Billah Shah in the chair, recommended steps to make the upcoming polio campaign successful by administering vaccine to 75,682 children in the district.
The health department officials told the meeting that 231 mobile teams had been constituted to cover the whole district while transit centers would be established at the city airport and two border areas of Ashrait and Shandur. The campaign will commence from October 13 and continue for three days.
The Chitral DCO emphasised the need of reaching maximum number of people to make them realise the importance of the national immunisation days to ensure their active participation. He assured all-out support from the district government to make the campaign a success.
Posted by ZAK at 9:23 AM 0 comments
Monday, October 6, 2008
Trade corridor: paradigm shift we’ve been waiting for?
An official of the World Bank in Islamabad says the Bank is ready to lend Pakistan $2.25 billion for a trade and energy corridor focusing mostly on Gwadar Port and its land link with China: “the trade and energy corridor that would serve as a gateway for commerce and transport between South Asia, Central Asia, China and the Gulf countries”. In this proposed scheme of things, Pakistan will set up a big oil terminal and refineries at Gwadar with Chinese help because most of the oil will be transported to China from there.
But the World Bank official has made other observations too: “Any land-based trade between the Gulf region and the South Asian states can best take place through Pakistan. The country would work as a link between the Gulf region, Iran, Afghanistan, China and Central Asia and that would make regional states natural trading partners. Pakistan is the ideal approach for the shipment of Indian goods to Afghanistan and the Central Asian markets”. Hopefully we can add the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline to the above project(s) after the complex tripartite negotiations on it are successfully concluded.
But a much more important thing happened during President Asif Ali Zardari’s meeting with the Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, in New York. The report says: “The two met on sidelines of the 63rd United Nations General Assembly session and announced a mutual agreement on a number of vital business-related issues. On top of everything else came Pakistan’s agreement to allow Indians an overland access to Afghanistan.”
The trade corridor was first spoken of by General Musharraf in one of his enlightened moments. He was thinking in paradigmatic terms, about converting Pakistan into a trading hub for the regions lying around it. Since he had begun to build the Gwadar Port — not first conceived by him, let us admit — the network of roads and railway tracks branching from the port seemed to leave India out. But later he began to speak in more general terms and was once privately in favour of conceding the Indian request that a corridor be given it for trading with Central Asia.
But the idea of the Indian corridor got stuck because Gen Musharraf deferred to the “defence” angle and abstained from delinking it from Kashmir, despite having established the precedent of delinking the IPI from Kashmir. As a general, he probably realised that he might be standing on the edge of an identity-change of the state of Pakistan. But equally as a general, perhaps he realised the limits of how far he could go in changing the country from a warrior state to a trading nation.
There are two ways of looking at “geopolitical importance”, or two ways of deriving benefit from it. One is the “civilian” approach which means the geographically important state has to develop its roadways and railways, and other infrastructure such as hotels, to facilitate those who wish to pass through. Once the geographically “connective” state has become an effective corridor of passage, its “strategic” importance no doubt increases. And the dividend of this importance comes in economic terms and through an absence of war.
The other way is the “military” approach which relies on geography as “hindrance” rather than “connection”. The military mind says: we are in the middle and we will not let you pass unless you agree to our terms. (To India, we say let’s resolve Kashmir before we talk free trade.) In Pakistan’s case, this approach is often cited also as a raison d’etre for being a military dominated national security state. This is a warrior’s approach and signalises his preference for selective militarism as opposed to generalised economic betterment. In the case of Pakistan, it is the military view of geopolitical importance that has held sway.
Pakistan as a nuclear power is eminently suited to becoming a trade corridor with capacity to lay down the terms compatible with its economic interest. The Central Asian market may be small at this moment and it may be tough for India to compete with China there, but in the coming years the region of SAARC will take what is its due in Central Asia on the basis of shared history and civilisation. Afghanistan has already decided where it wants to stand by joining SAARC. The free trade project of the SAARC “common market” will finally integrate it to South Asia. The Central Asians will follow.
The smuggling that takes place between Pakistan and Afghanistan now supplies markets in Central Asia. The flour Pakistan loses to the region northwest of it will no longer be smuggled because the support price of wheat is now linked to the international price. The next stage is Pakistan organising the Central Asian food supply on the strength of its trade corridor and making the middleman’s money out of it.--Daily Times
Posted by ZAK at 9:59 PM 0 comments
Lowari tunnel will be opened this winter
By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The first phase of the Lowari tunnel project will be completed in the first week of December, which is likely to be opened for traffic after closure of the Lowari Pass in winter.
Talking to journalists at an Eid Milan party here on Monday, District Nazim Maghfirat Shah said completion of the project’s phase-I would be an historical day for Chitral, which would be celebrated as ‘thanksgiving day’.
He said the day would be declared a public holiday in the district and programmes would be arranged in Drosh, Chitral city and Booni. He said preparations had been started by the district government to celebrate the day in a befitting manner.
The nazim said the second phase of the project would commence soon. He said that in the previous years, the people of Chitral used to travel through the Kunar province of Afghanistan and the Mohmand Agency in winter due to closure of the Lowari Pass, but it would not be possible now due to the volatile situation both in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan.
He said the National Highway Authority high-ups had agreed to facilitate passengers through the under-construction tunnel after completion of its first phase. He said NHA buses would offer shuttle service to transport passengers through the tunnel, which would be available twice a day.
ISLAMABAD: Nestled among the Hindukush mountains, the district of Chitral has so far remained unaffected by the war on terrorism. But in the coming winter the Chitralis are likely to be locked up in their rugged valley due to the blockade of the Kunar-Bajaur route which they have been using as an alternative to the over 10,000-foot-high Lowari Pass from December to May every year.
When the Lowari road connecting Chitral with other parts of the country remains closed due to hundreds of feet deep snow for about five months in winter, the people of the district take the alternative route via Afghanistan’s Kunar province and enter the Bajaur Agency via the Nawa pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to reach other parts of the country. However, the ongoing military operation has made Bajaur a no-go area this year.
To avoid being completely cut-off from rest of the world, the residents of Chitral have demanded that the government should make special arrangements for resolving their communication-related problems before the closure of the only road linking the valley with the rest of the country via the Lowari Pass.
In this regard, they stressed the need to increase the number of PIA flights from Peshawar and Islamabad besides starting a helicopter service like one launched in 1996 between upper Dir and Drosh in Chitral by the then NWFP government.
They warned that if the PIA suspended the Islamabad-Chitral flights on the pretext of unavailability of passengers this year again, they would launch a protest movement against the government.
It may be noted that the PIA had launched its Chitral service from the federal capital in June last year on the repeated demands of the residents to lessen their communication problems besides facilitating foreign tourists visiting the area. However, the national-flag carrier suspended the operation in November 2007 citing lack of passengers. The Chitralis, however, alleged that some elements in the PIA were opposed to the initiative and had tried from the very beginning to sabotage the service by denying tickets to the intending passengers and inflicting losses on the corporation.
They said the PIA was also to be blamed for the lack of passengers on the Islamabad-Chitral flight because neither it had publicised the launch of the service nor facilitated the intending passengers in getting tickets. Besides, to discourage the passengers it kept the fare at Rs3,600 against Rs2,900 for Gilgit which is situated at a longer distance from Islamabad than Chitral. The people of Chitral pointed out that the return flights from their town always remained full to capacity while ticket seekers in the PIA’s Rawalpindi and Islamabad offices were turned away on one pretext or the other.
They called upon their public representatives to take up the issue with the government to ensure uninterrupted flights to the district till the under-construction Lowari tunnel becomes operational.
Posted by ZAK at 8:26 PM 0 comments
Upper Chitral residents to pay bills locally
PESHAWAR: On the directives of NWFP Minister for Population Weflare Saleem Khan, the consumers of Upper Chitral will have the facility of paying electricity bills at local branch of post offices. Earlier, the residents of the far-flung areas of Upper Chitral had to travel long enough to the specific branches of scheduled banks to pay the electricity bills. To pay a bill of almost Rs 50 or Rs100, the people of the far-flung areas had to spend three to four hundred rupees every month in respect of travel charges which caused great trouble for the poor masses of the area besides the wastage of time.
The people of the area have expressed pleasure and thanked the provincial minister for taking keen interest in solving their problems. On this occasion, the provincial minister in a statement issued from Peshawar said solving the basic problems of the people of Chitral was the top-most priority of the present government for which he would strive at every level. The minister appreciated the efforts of Post Master General and Managing Director SHYDO in resolving the issues of the consumers of Upper Chitral.--PPI
Posted by ZAK at 8:23 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Chitral colleges lack hostel facilities
By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: Lack of hostel facilities in the public sector colleges has forced a good number of students to discontinue their studies, the parents complained.
Talking to this correspondent on Tuesday, they said for the population of about 500,000, there were only four colleges in the district. One of which is situated at Booni (upper Chitral) and the rest is located in the district headquarters.
The parents regretted that the government degree college Booni faced the acute shortage of teaching staff as a result of which the students thronged to the colleges in the Chitral city. The total capacity of the five hostels of the three colleges in the city is said to be about 400 while the strength of the students enrolled in the colleges is about 2,400.
The government started second shifts in two of the colleges last year to ensure the admission of more students but these students could not avail of the hostel facility, they said.
Because of absence of the hostel facility, the students from the distant villages of Chitral preferred to not take admission in the colleges.
As for the female colleges, the situation is more dismal as there is only one public sector college in the district and the total capacity of its hostel is about 50 which is too short to cater to the needs of the whole district.
Many parents from the upper Chitral said that due to the unavailability of hostel facility, they were forced to get the admission of their daughters cancelled and take them back to their villages.
The parents said that although colleges in the private sector offered hostel facilities but a very few parents could afford to bear the high expenses.
According to them, the private colleges’ hostels are overburdened and the boarders are forced to live in congested atmosphere. A boarder of a college hostel said the capacity of his room is four but six students live there as the college administration has to oblige more number of students to save their futures.
Meanwhile, sources in the higher education department said that for the last fifteen years, not a single hostel had been added to the colleges while the number of students had increased manifold.
Posted by ZAK at 9:25 AM 0 comments
Over 75,000 children to be administered polio drops
In a meeting held here on Tuesday with Chitral DCO Mutasim Billah Shah in the chair, recommended steps to make the upcoming polio campaign successful by administering vaccine to 75,682 children in the district.
The health department officials told the meeting that 231 mobile teams had been constituted to cover the whole district while transit centers would be established at the city airport and two border areas of Ashrait and Shandur. The campaign will commence from October 13 and continue for three days.
The Chitral DCO emphasised the need of reaching maximum number of people to make them realise the importance of the national immunisation days to ensure their active participation. He assured all-out support from the district government to make the campaign a success.
Posted by ZAK at 9:23 AM 0 comments
Monday, October 6, 2008
Trade corridor: paradigm shift we’ve been waiting for?
An official of the World Bank in Islamabad says the Bank is ready to lend Pakistan $2.25 billion for a trade and energy corridor focusing mostly on Gwadar Port and its land link with China: “the trade and energy corridor that would serve as a gateway for commerce and transport between South Asia, Central Asia, China and the Gulf countries”. In this proposed scheme of things, Pakistan will set up a big oil terminal and refineries at Gwadar with Chinese help because most of the oil will be transported to China from there.
But the World Bank official has made other observations too: “Any land-based trade between the Gulf region and the South Asian states can best take place through Pakistan. The country would work as a link between the Gulf region, Iran, Afghanistan, China and Central Asia and that would make regional states natural trading partners. Pakistan is the ideal approach for the shipment of Indian goods to Afghanistan and the Central Asian markets”. Hopefully we can add the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline to the above project(s) after the complex tripartite negotiations on it are successfully concluded.
But a much more important thing happened during President Asif Ali Zardari’s meeting with the Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, in New York. The report says: “The two met on sidelines of the 63rd United Nations General Assembly session and announced a mutual agreement on a number of vital business-related issues. On top of everything else came Pakistan’s agreement to allow Indians an overland access to Afghanistan.”
The trade corridor was first spoken of by General Musharraf in one of his enlightened moments. He was thinking in paradigmatic terms, about converting Pakistan into a trading hub for the regions lying around it. Since he had begun to build the Gwadar Port — not first conceived by him, let us admit — the network of roads and railway tracks branching from the port seemed to leave India out. But later he began to speak in more general terms and was once privately in favour of conceding the Indian request that a corridor be given it for trading with Central Asia.
But the idea of the Indian corridor got stuck because Gen Musharraf deferred to the “defence” angle and abstained from delinking it from Kashmir, despite having established the precedent of delinking the IPI from Kashmir. As a general, he probably realised that he might be standing on the edge of an identity-change of the state of Pakistan. But equally as a general, perhaps he realised the limits of how far he could go in changing the country from a warrior state to a trading nation.
There are two ways of looking at “geopolitical importance”, or two ways of deriving benefit from it. One is the “civilian” approach which means the geographically important state has to develop its roadways and railways, and other infrastructure such as hotels, to facilitate those who wish to pass through. Once the geographically “connective” state has become an effective corridor of passage, its “strategic” importance no doubt increases. And the dividend of this importance comes in economic terms and through an absence of war.
The other way is the “military” approach which relies on geography as “hindrance” rather than “connection”. The military mind says: we are in the middle and we will not let you pass unless you agree to our terms. (To India, we say let’s resolve Kashmir before we talk free trade.) In Pakistan’s case, this approach is often cited also as a raison d’etre for being a military dominated national security state. This is a warrior’s approach and signalises his preference for selective militarism as opposed to generalised economic betterment. In the case of Pakistan, it is the military view of geopolitical importance that has held sway.
Pakistan as a nuclear power is eminently suited to becoming a trade corridor with capacity to lay down the terms compatible with its economic interest. The Central Asian market may be small at this moment and it may be tough for India to compete with China there, but in the coming years the region of SAARC will take what is its due in Central Asia on the basis of shared history and civilisation. Afghanistan has already decided where it wants to stand by joining SAARC. The free trade project of the SAARC “common market” will finally integrate it to South Asia. The Central Asians will follow.
The smuggling that takes place between Pakistan and Afghanistan now supplies markets in Central Asia. The flour Pakistan loses to the region northwest of it will no longer be smuggled because the support price of wheat is now linked to the international price. The next stage is Pakistan organising the Central Asian food supply on the strength of its trade corridor and making the middleman’s money out of it.--Daily Times
Posted by ZAK at 9:59 PM 0 comments
Lowari tunnel will be opened this winter
By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The first phase of the Lowari tunnel project will be completed in the first week of December, which is likely to be opened for traffic after closure of the Lowari Pass in winter.
Talking to journalists at an Eid Milan party here on Monday, District Nazim Maghfirat Shah said completion of the project’s phase-I would be an historical day for Chitral, which would be celebrated as ‘thanksgiving day’.
He said the day would be declared a public holiday in the district and programmes would be arranged in Drosh, Chitral city and Booni. He said preparations had been started by the district government to celebrate the day in a befitting manner.
The nazim said the second phase of the project would commence soon. He said that in the previous years, the people of Chitral used to travel through the Kunar province of Afghanistan and the Mohmand Agency in winter due to closure of the Lowari Pass, but it would not be possible now due to the volatile situation both in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan.
He said the National Highway Authority high-ups had agreed to facilitate passengers through the under-construction tunnel after completion of its first phase. He said NHA buses would offer shuttle service to transport passengers through the tunnel, which would be available twice a day.
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