Report Waqar Ahmad
CHITRAL, May 15, 2011: Flood-affected people from different parts of Chitral here on Sunday narrated their sufferings and government’s apathy to rehabilitate them despite the passage of almost one year.
Speaking at a press conference, they appealed to the president, prime minister and the governor and chief minister of KP to announce a special package for their rehabilitation on a priority basis.
Those who spoke on the occasion included Rehmat Khan from Yarkhun valley, Mohammad Kabir Shah from Sheshi Koh, Sher Khan from Khorkashan Deh, Chitral; Gulab Khan from Arandu, Noor Hussain from Bumburet, Mir Wali Shah of Shoghor and Jehangir of Jugoor.
They said there were 90 families in the district who were most affected in the devastating floods but none of them had so far been provided any assistance.
They said some of the flood victims had been issued Watan cards but most of them were still deprived of the facility. Even those who have been issued the cards were not been paid the amount.
They said when the flood victims approached NADRA for issuance of the cards, they were told to contact the UBL. However, the UBL authorities told the affected persons that issuance of the Watan cards was the responsibility of NADRA.
The flood victims also said the Saudi government had sent 15 trucks of relief goods to Chitral but the authorities concerned in the district distributed the items among their favourites within the Chitral town.
They asked the government to order an inquiry into delay in provision of relief to the victims. They said flood victims in the remote villages of the valley were suffering a lot as there was no one to inquire after their conditions.
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Sunday, May 15, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
'Chitralis' hospitality impressed Markhor hunters'
PESHAWAR, April 21, 2011: Foreigners from US and Russia hunted three Markhors – two in Chitral and one in Kohistan - and returned to their homelands carrying along the attractive trophies and good memories of hospitality of the local people.
“One of the three hunters was an octogenarian,” said Chief Conservator Wildlife Department Saeeduz Zaman Siddique.
The chief conservator said the expedition of these foreign hunters was very successful from all aspects and they returned home much satisfied with the hospitality and friendly behaviour of people of the areas.
“We were concerned about the safety and security of foreign hunters and fortunately nothing untoward happened during their stay,” he said and added in fact the attitude of locals with the visiting hunters was very cordial and encouraging.
Giving details about hunting scheme, Saeeduz Zaman said government had allowed hunting of limited number of Markhors and Ibex under the Trophy Hunting Program.
The program was aimed at protection of the endangered animals through involvement of communities and fund raising.
In the trophy hunting scheme, communities are being involved in conservation of wildlife and revenue generation by sale of hunting permits of protected animals and the amount is mostly spent on development of involved communities.
This year, he said, the Wildlife department earned 215,500 dollars through sale of three permits of Markhor hunting. During the current game, two animals were hunted in Chitral and one in Kohistan.
In Chitral, Mr. Te Pavel of Russian and Mr. John Joseph Lo Monaco of US brought down the animals in Toshi Sha Sha Markhor Conservancy and paid dollars 80,500 each.
He said Joseph Alian Smith hunted the animal in Kaigah game reserve, Kohistan, and paid dollars 55,000.--APP
“One of the three hunters was an octogenarian,” said Chief Conservator Wildlife Department Saeeduz Zaman Siddique.
The chief conservator said the expedition of these foreign hunters was very successful from all aspects and they returned home much satisfied with the hospitality and friendly behaviour of people of the areas.
“We were concerned about the safety and security of foreign hunters and fortunately nothing untoward happened during their stay,” he said and added in fact the attitude of locals with the visiting hunters was very cordial and encouraging.
Giving details about hunting scheme, Saeeduz Zaman said government had allowed hunting of limited number of Markhors and Ibex under the Trophy Hunting Program.
The program was aimed at protection of the endangered animals through involvement of communities and fund raising.
In the trophy hunting scheme, communities are being involved in conservation of wildlife and revenue generation by sale of hunting permits of protected animals and the amount is mostly spent on development of involved communities.
This year, he said, the Wildlife department earned 215,500 dollars through sale of three permits of Markhor hunting. During the current game, two animals were hunted in Chitral and one in Kohistan.
In Chitral, Mr. Te Pavel of Russian and Mr. John Joseph Lo Monaco of US brought down the animals in Toshi Sha Sha Markhor Conservancy and paid dollars 80,500 each.
He said Joseph Alian Smith hunted the animal in Kaigah game reserve, Kohistan, and paid dollars 55,000.--APP
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Chitral miners seek end to injustices
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Frontier Miners Association’s Chitral chapter has warned of a strong resistance against bids to lease the valley’s natural resources to outsiders and the alleged injustices and discrimination continuing against the local miners.
It called upon Chief Minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to put an end to the injustices with the small miners of Chitral.
The chairman of the association’s Chitral chapter, Col (retired) Sardar Mohammad, said that for the last over 15 years officials of the survey and drawing section of the Directorate of Mines and Minerals, NWFP, had been passing on the GPS coordinates, including the mineral area maps of the prospective miners to non-local parties, pouring cold water on years-long efforts of the would-be miners of Chitral.
He said local investors had been deprived of their rights to lease while well-connected parties were being allotted the prospective areas much to the detriment of the indigenous people.
“This shows that Chitral is not only being robbed of its non-renewable assets, but also outside parties are being given a free hand to plunder the resources leaving the locals entangled in a rotten system.”
Col Sardar said when the DMM director general initiated action against the officials, the latter began approaching highly-placed people to keep alive their hopes of retaining their jobs, caring less for the fast-brewing charged atmosphere in Chitral where nationalistic tendencies were at an all time high.
“Resentment against the corrupt system and its inept officials has engulfed the entire district and forced political opponents to find common grounds to rise against gross injustices spanning over the past 63 years,” he added.
He said the local chapters of the PPP, PPP-S, PML-N, PML-Q, JUI, JI and ANP had agreed to safeguard the interest of the area and formed a mines and minerals monitoring committee to force the government to stop discrimination against the nascent local mining sector.
The monitoring committee, which is also headed by Col Sardar, has demanded that the government should share allotted areas’ details with the committee and the district administration, get the committee and the district administration’s clearance that personal property of local residents is not leased out, start work in an allotted area within three months of the issuance of clearance certificates, stop discrimination against the locals and ensure through a transparent system that locals get preference in lease allotments.
He said that amid rising unemployment rate in the remote district, such injustices were seen by all as the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people. If not mitigated forthwith, such injustices have all the ingredients to spark violence in an otherwise calm Chitral that has served as a beacon of peace and force its residents towards a Balochistan-like situation. There is already a loud talk by Hazara district nazims to form a separate province where their rights are safeguarded and Chitral is being forced to think on the same lines.
Col Sardar called upon Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to play the role of a statesman to safeguard the rights of Chitral and end the sense of deprivation in the district.
ISLAMABAD: The Frontier Miners Association’s Chitral chapter has warned of a strong resistance against bids to lease the valley’s natural resources to outsiders and the alleged injustices and discrimination continuing against the local miners.
It called upon Chief Minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to put an end to the injustices with the small miners of Chitral.
The chairman of the association’s Chitral chapter, Col (retired) Sardar Mohammad, said that for the last over 15 years officials of the survey and drawing section of the Directorate of Mines and Minerals, NWFP, had been passing on the GPS coordinates, including the mineral area maps of the prospective miners to non-local parties, pouring cold water on years-long efforts of the would-be miners of Chitral.
He said local investors had been deprived of their rights to lease while well-connected parties were being allotted the prospective areas much to the detriment of the indigenous people.
“This shows that Chitral is not only being robbed of its non-renewable assets, but also outside parties are being given a free hand to plunder the resources leaving the locals entangled in a rotten system.”
Col Sardar said when the DMM director general initiated action against the officials, the latter began approaching highly-placed people to keep alive their hopes of retaining their jobs, caring less for the fast-brewing charged atmosphere in Chitral where nationalistic tendencies were at an all time high.
“Resentment against the corrupt system and its inept officials has engulfed the entire district and forced political opponents to find common grounds to rise against gross injustices spanning over the past 63 years,” he added.
He said the local chapters of the PPP, PPP-S, PML-N, PML-Q, JUI, JI and ANP had agreed to safeguard the interest of the area and formed a mines and minerals monitoring committee to force the government to stop discrimination against the nascent local mining sector.
The monitoring committee, which is also headed by Col Sardar, has demanded that the government should share allotted areas’ details with the committee and the district administration, get the committee and the district administration’s clearance that personal property of local residents is not leased out, start work in an allotted area within three months of the issuance of clearance certificates, stop discrimination against the locals and ensure through a transparent system that locals get preference in lease allotments.
He said that amid rising unemployment rate in the remote district, such injustices were seen by all as the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people. If not mitigated forthwith, such injustices have all the ingredients to spark violence in an otherwise calm Chitral that has served as a beacon of peace and force its residents towards a Balochistan-like situation. There is already a loud talk by Hazara district nazims to form a separate province where their rights are safeguarded and Chitral is being forced to think on the same lines.
Col Sardar called upon Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to play the role of a statesman to safeguard the rights of Chitral and end the sense of deprivation in the district.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Action sought against contractor for substandard bridge construction
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: An influential contractor in Chitral is again using substandard material in the reconstruction of a bridge in Yarkhun valley after the collapse of another bridge in the area days after its completion killing three persons, the local residents alleged.
Talking to Dawn, they also accused contractor Mohammad Khan of changing the design of the bridge and decreasing its width in connivance with the officials of the works department though Rs140 million had been sanctioned for the project.
When the residents held a protest demonstration against the poor quality work on the bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district, the contractor assured them that fresh and quality material would be used in the project. However, a few days later he restarted work at the site using the same old stuff.
When the bridge collapsed in August 2006, the local residents had collected its material including strings, bolts and plunks and stored them in a nearby field. With the passage of time most of the material got damaged due to weathering and became unfit for use.
The residents of Yarkhun said the reconstruction of the only bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district had been in the cold storage for the over three years.
Official sources said the executive engineer works had imposed Rs1.4 million fine on the contractor and also recommended his blacklisting for failing to complete the project on time but so far action has not been taken against him.
Public representatives in the area said Mohammad Khan was also responsible for inordinate delay and poor quality work in major development projects in the district. They said misuse of funds, delay and poor quality work had been detected in a number of projects.
They cited the examples of the Booni-Shandur road, Molkhow road and Mastuj bridge projects which were awarded to the same contractor wholly or partially and were still incomplete.
When contacted, contractor Mohammad Khan rejected all the allegations and said to avoid backlash of the residents of Yarkhun, MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin and MPA Ghulam Mohammad were trying to make him a scapegoat and tarnish his image among the local people.
He said the elected representatives had tried to award the project to their cronies by floating tenders three times which caused delay in completion of the work. He said neither he was using the old material in the reconstruction of the bridge nor had reduced its width.
About extra payment made to him in the Attahk water project, he said the earlier estimate was made by an inexperienced consultant, after which another consultant raised the cost of the completed work, adding most of the payment had still not been made to him.--Dawn
ISLAMABAD: An influential contractor in Chitral is again using substandard material in the reconstruction of a bridge in Yarkhun valley after the collapse of another bridge in the area days after its completion killing three persons, the local residents alleged.
Talking to Dawn, they also accused contractor Mohammad Khan of changing the design of the bridge and decreasing its width in connivance with the officials of the works department though Rs140 million had been sanctioned for the project.
When the residents held a protest demonstration against the poor quality work on the bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district, the contractor assured them that fresh and quality material would be used in the project. However, a few days later he restarted work at the site using the same old stuff.
When the bridge collapsed in August 2006, the local residents had collected its material including strings, bolts and plunks and stored them in a nearby field. With the passage of time most of the material got damaged due to weathering and became unfit for use.
The residents of Yarkhun said the reconstruction of the only bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district had been in the cold storage for the over three years.
Official sources said the executive engineer works had imposed Rs1.4 million fine on the contractor and also recommended his blacklisting for failing to complete the project on time but so far action has not been taken against him.
Public representatives in the area said Mohammad Khan was also responsible for inordinate delay and poor quality work in major development projects in the district. They said misuse of funds, delay and poor quality work had been detected in a number of projects.
They cited the examples of the Booni-Shandur road, Molkhow road and Mastuj bridge projects which were awarded to the same contractor wholly or partially and were still incomplete.
When contacted, contractor Mohammad Khan rejected all the allegations and said to avoid backlash of the residents of Yarkhun, MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin and MPA Ghulam Mohammad were trying to make him a scapegoat and tarnish his image among the local people.
He said the elected representatives had tried to award the project to their cronies by floating tenders three times which caused delay in completion of the work. He said neither he was using the old material in the reconstruction of the bridge nor had reduced its width.
About extra payment made to him in the Attahk water project, he said the earlier estimate was made by an inexperienced consultant, after which another consultant raised the cost of the completed work, adding most of the payment had still not been made to him.--Dawn
Discord over Norwegian-funded project in Chitral
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Rs1 billion Norwegian funded Chitral Integrated Area Development Project (CIADP) will not produce desired results and is poised to create political polarisation in the area due to lack of clear plan and flaws in its execution system, development experts pointed out.
They said though the Norwegian government had taken a good step for development of Chitral, it did not take all the stakeholders into confidence before launching the mega project with the current district nazim from Jamaat-i-Islami as the head of its steering committee. Besides, questions are also being raised why Islamabad-based contractors, the Thrive, had been hired for management consultancy when there were non-profit making agencies that had already carried out a number of development projects in the valley.
About 10 to 20 per cent of the funds would go to the contractors, they said. Furthermore, there will be unnecessary expenditures on office hiring in Islamabad and Chitral by the contractors. Since the early 1980s, a number of NGOs have been working in the development sector and none of them has ever hired a contractor for execution of its schemes. Projects identification is done by the local communities and the schemes are executed on the basis of their feasibility. The contractors for CIADP have, however, neither taken local elected representatives of mainstream political parties into confidence nor briefed them about the schemes.
The project document is also silent on the much needed programme component - physically productive infrastructure projects. Besides, the contractors have not been able to satisfy the proposed implementing partners, community representatives and the beneficiaries on the modality of the programme and recruitment of the staff. The focus of the contractors has been on employing low-paid staff without considering its adverse impact on the quality of management.
MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin expressed regret that he was neither taken into confidence nor briefed about the project. He said the mandate of the district government had already ended and the future of the system was ambiguous. He claimed that the provincial government had also expressed its displeasure over the way it had been bypassed in launching the project. “The CIADP has been developed as if it is a slush fund for the district nazim. This is not good for Chitral. One person should not be in the deciding chair keeping in view the geo-political landscape of Chitral,” the MNA said, adding the JI nazim was taking undue political benefit from the project propagating that he had brought the funds for development of Chitral.
Mr Mohiuddin also objected to the formation of the project steering committee and said the area MNA, MPAs and representatives of all political parties should be included in it. He said instead of the district nazim the committee should be headed by the DCO who represents the provincial government and coordinates all development works. The district government overlooks only the portion of work controlled by the district assembly which is only a fraction of the overall development projects and does not include the provincial annual development plan and many other funding sources through the federal and provincial governments.Besides, the handlers of the funds are selecting projects sites without involving experts for feasibility study. Four areas have initially been selected and are being given lump-sump money with the task to carry out unspecified projects. These areas are: Beori valley,
Kargin, Chuinj villages in Mastuj tehsil, Nishkow in Molkhow and Runmbur in Kalash valley.
The MNA said projects launched in these areas would not complete in four to five years because the localities neither have local support organisations nor sufficient manpower. It would have been more productive had the fund utilised for the development of infrastructure in whole the district. He said educational institutions lacked buildings and primary schools having two rooms each accommodated six classes. The funds could have been used for providing missing facilities including classrooms in schools, he added.
When contacted for comments, Terje Thodesen, Counsellor Development, and Terje Barstad, Minsiter Counsellor, at the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad brushed aside the apprehensions and said they had completed all requirements and formalities before launching the project.
They said the project visualised in 2005 was launched on June 23, 2009, and would be completed in the year 2014 covering all parts of Chitral. They said the project proposals had come from the district government. During a Logical Framework Approach (LFA) workshop in 2007, all the stakeholders including the local NGOs were taken on board. In December 2008, they also held a meeting with the officials of the provincial local government department in Peshawar. The terms of reference were advertised and given to the local people.
They said the Islamabad-based management company, the Thrive, won the project as no other firm took part in the bidding which was open to all. Besides, the aim to award the project to Thrive was that it is the neutral firm having no political or whatsoever affiliations in the district. The steering committee is headed by the district nazim while a representative of the firm is its secretary. They said funds were not given under the direct control of the district nazim as the project was being executed by the company while the embassy oversaw its working. The hiring of staff for the project was also carried out by the company, they added. They said they were always ready to brief any political representative about the project, but so far nobody has contacted them.--Dawn
ISLAMABAD: The Rs1 billion Norwegian funded Chitral Integrated Area Development Project (CIADP) will not produce desired results and is poised to create political polarisation in the area due to lack of clear plan and flaws in its execution system, development experts pointed out.
They said though the Norwegian government had taken a good step for development of Chitral, it did not take all the stakeholders into confidence before launching the mega project with the current district nazim from Jamaat-i-Islami as the head of its steering committee. Besides, questions are also being raised why Islamabad-based contractors, the Thrive, had been hired for management consultancy when there were non-profit making agencies that had already carried out a number of development projects in the valley.
About 10 to 20 per cent of the funds would go to the contractors, they said. Furthermore, there will be unnecessary expenditures on office hiring in Islamabad and Chitral by the contractors. Since the early 1980s, a number of NGOs have been working in the development sector and none of them has ever hired a contractor for execution of its schemes. Projects identification is done by the local communities and the schemes are executed on the basis of their feasibility. The contractors for CIADP have, however, neither taken local elected representatives of mainstream political parties into confidence nor briefed them about the schemes.
The project document is also silent on the much needed programme component - physically productive infrastructure projects. Besides, the contractors have not been able to satisfy the proposed implementing partners, community representatives and the beneficiaries on the modality of the programme and recruitment of the staff. The focus of the contractors has been on employing low-paid staff without considering its adverse impact on the quality of management.
MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin expressed regret that he was neither taken into confidence nor briefed about the project. He said the mandate of the district government had already ended and the future of the system was ambiguous. He claimed that the provincial government had also expressed its displeasure over the way it had been bypassed in launching the project. “The CIADP has been developed as if it is a slush fund for the district nazim. This is not good for Chitral. One person should not be in the deciding chair keeping in view the geo-political landscape of Chitral,” the MNA said, adding the JI nazim was taking undue political benefit from the project propagating that he had brought the funds for development of Chitral.
Mr Mohiuddin also objected to the formation of the project steering committee and said the area MNA, MPAs and representatives of all political parties should be included in it. He said instead of the district nazim the committee should be headed by the DCO who represents the provincial government and coordinates all development works. The district government overlooks only the portion of work controlled by the district assembly which is only a fraction of the overall development projects and does not include the provincial annual development plan and many other funding sources through the federal and provincial governments.Besides, the handlers of the funds are selecting projects sites without involving experts for feasibility study. Four areas have initially been selected and are being given lump-sump money with the task to carry out unspecified projects. These areas are: Beori valley,
Kargin, Chuinj villages in Mastuj tehsil, Nishkow in Molkhow and Runmbur in Kalash valley.
The MNA said projects launched in these areas would not complete in four to five years because the localities neither have local support organisations nor sufficient manpower. It would have been more productive had the fund utilised for the development of infrastructure in whole the district. He said educational institutions lacked buildings and primary schools having two rooms each accommodated six classes. The funds could have been used for providing missing facilities including classrooms in schools, he added.
When contacted for comments, Terje Thodesen, Counsellor Development, and Terje Barstad, Minsiter Counsellor, at the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad brushed aside the apprehensions and said they had completed all requirements and formalities before launching the project.
They said the project visualised in 2005 was launched on June 23, 2009, and would be completed in the year 2014 covering all parts of Chitral. They said the project proposals had come from the district government. During a Logical Framework Approach (LFA) workshop in 2007, all the stakeholders including the local NGOs were taken on board. In December 2008, they also held a meeting with the officials of the provincial local government department in Peshawar. The terms of reference were advertised and given to the local people.
They said the Islamabad-based management company, the Thrive, won the project as no other firm took part in the bidding which was open to all. Besides, the aim to award the project to Thrive was that it is the neutral firm having no political or whatsoever affiliations in the district. The steering committee is headed by the district nazim while a representative of the firm is its secretary. They said funds were not given under the direct control of the district nazim as the project was being executed by the company while the embassy oversaw its working. The hiring of staff for the project was also carried out by the company, they added. They said they were always ready to brief any political representative about the project, but so far nobody has contacted them.--Dawn
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Ten killed in Lowari Pass traffic accident
CHITRAL: Ten passengers were killed and four others injured in a road accident on the Lowari Pass near Dir Sunday, police said.
According to the Dir and Chitral police, a Land Cruiser carrying 14 passengers was on way to Chitral from Dir. When the vehicle reached Daro Khwar near Gujar on the Lowari Pass at 2pm, it went out of the driver’s control due to some technical fault and fell down into a hundreds of feet deep ravine.
As a result, nine passengers died on the spot and one succumbed to injuries later. The others were injured, some of them critically.
The bodies kept at the DHQ Hospital in Dir have been identified as Inayatullah, son of Baraat Khan, Chitral; Sharifullah, son of Rehmatullah, Ayun; Misal Khan, his wife and son from Shah Mansoor, Swabi, and Sartaj and Dilaram, residents of Lower Dir.
The Dir police said they have handed over three bodies to the Chitral police who could not be identified.
The injured admitted to the DHQ Hospital Dir were identified as Waqar, Habibullah, Tariq and Ehsan.
According to the Dir and Chitral police, a Land Cruiser carrying 14 passengers was on way to Chitral from Dir. When the vehicle reached Daro Khwar near Gujar on the Lowari Pass at 2pm, it went out of the driver’s control due to some technical fault and fell down into a hundreds of feet deep ravine.
As a result, nine passengers died on the spot and one succumbed to injuries later. The others were injured, some of them critically.
The bodies kept at the DHQ Hospital in Dir have been identified as Inayatullah, son of Baraat Khan, Chitral; Sharifullah, son of Rehmatullah, Ayun; Misal Khan, his wife and son from Shah Mansoor, Swabi, and Sartaj and Dilaram, residents of Lower Dir.
The Dir police said they have handed over three bodies to the Chitral police who could not be identified.
The injured admitted to the DHQ Hospital Dir were identified as Waqar, Habibullah, Tariq and Ehsan.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Steps urged to enhance border security in Chitral
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Fearing more criminal and anti-state activities from across the border in Afghanistan, people of Chitral have asked the federal government to strengthen the local police and border security force on a priority basis.
Though Chitral has remained unaffected from Taliban militancy so far, its over 300-km-long poorly watched porous border with the three provinces of Afghanistan - Wakhan, Nooristan and Kunar – has seen unchecked movement of Afghan nationals including smugglers and criminals into the valley. And the recent kidnapping of a Greek national from Kalash valley has further exposed the vulnerability of the district to such an eventuality.
Security experts believe that any long-term strategy to contain Taliban resurrection and keep the Malakand division from any future militant activity is fraught with failure until Chitral-Afghan border was protected through enhanced security measures.
The Chitral police with its current strength of about 1,050 personnel are poorly equipped and unable to meet growing security concerns besides discharging their routine duty in the district spreading over 14,850 square kilometres. Besides, most of the Chitral Scouts personnel which used to man the border till the withdrawal of Russian forces from Afghanistan in 1989 now remain posted out in Gilgit-Baltistan and the violence-hit districts of the NWFP.
As the dust settles on the military operation against Taliban militants, the federal government is all set to raise a strong police force of 11,000 personnel for the Malakand division which will replace the army to maintain peace in the region. Though Chitral is a
district of the Malakand division and has suffered huge economic losses due to the recent law and order situation and is at the risk of increased militancy through its borders with Afghanistan as well as Swat and Dir districts, the government has strangely kept it
out of the future security arrangement.
When contacted, MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin, however, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured him that the district would get its share in the recruitment of 11,000 police personnel for the Malakand division. He said the minister was well aware of the security problems of the district and determined to strengthen the police and the border security force.
ISLAMABAD: Fearing more criminal and anti-state activities from across the border in Afghanistan, people of Chitral have asked the federal government to strengthen the local police and border security force on a priority basis.
Though Chitral has remained unaffected from Taliban militancy so far, its over 300-km-long poorly watched porous border with the three provinces of Afghanistan - Wakhan, Nooristan and Kunar – has seen unchecked movement of Afghan nationals including smugglers and criminals into the valley. And the recent kidnapping of a Greek national from Kalash valley has further exposed the vulnerability of the district to such an eventuality.
Security experts believe that any long-term strategy to contain Taliban resurrection and keep the Malakand division from any future militant activity is fraught with failure until Chitral-Afghan border was protected through enhanced security measures.
The Chitral police with its current strength of about 1,050 personnel are poorly equipped and unable to meet growing security concerns besides discharging their routine duty in the district spreading over 14,850 square kilometres. Besides, most of the Chitral Scouts personnel which used to man the border till the withdrawal of Russian forces from Afghanistan in 1989 now remain posted out in Gilgit-Baltistan and the violence-hit districts of the NWFP.
As the dust settles on the military operation against Taliban militants, the federal government is all set to raise a strong police force of 11,000 personnel for the Malakand division which will replace the army to maintain peace in the region. Though Chitral is a
district of the Malakand division and has suffered huge economic losses due to the recent law and order situation and is at the risk of increased militancy through its borders with Afghanistan as well as Swat and Dir districts, the government has strangely kept it
out of the future security arrangement.
When contacted, MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin, however, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured him that the district would get its share in the recruitment of 11,000 police personnel for the Malakand division. He said the minister was well aware of the security problems of the district and determined to strengthen the police and the border security force.
Flood affected people of Sonoghor in Chitral seek rehabilitation
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Despite the passage of over two years, no practical steps have been taken either by the federal or provincial governments to provide relief to the affected residents of Sonoghor village in the Mastuj tehsil of Chitral who were displaced by one of the biggest natural catastrophes in the history of the district.
On June 27, 2007, a glacier overlooking the scenic village burst and the avalanche/floodwater swept away houses, orchards, standing crops and other property. The mayhem continued for over three days and again hit the village one year later. As a result, as many as 115 families were displaced while 38 houses completely buried under the flood. The displaced residents have since been living in inhuman conditions in makeshift camps in nearby villages. Initially, they were provided relief items by some local NGOs who later also discontinued the assistance due to lack of funds.
Government officials and elected leaders have been making promises after promises to compensate and rehabilitate the affected people but so far no help has reached them. The residents also blocked the Chitral-Shandur road on the occasion of the annual polo tournament this year in protest against the government’s indifference to their sufferings and to convey their demands to the higher authorities. However, local officials in order to avoid any embarrassment again hoodwinked the people on false promises and got the road cleared.
Officials in the district could not be contacted for comments. However, MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin told this correspondent that in the year 2007 he had requested the then government to compensate the residents on a pattern similar to the affected people of the October 2005 earthquake in Hazara and Kashmir and help them rebuild the destroyed houses. He said the affected people in the earthquake zone were provided Rs175,000 per destroyed home by the government for reconstruction purposes.
“In spite of a surfeit of files travelling at high speed between the offices of the Provincial Relief Commissioner and the federal governments, no relief has been forthcoming for the poor residents,” he regretted.
He said continued inaction was projecting the government in poor light especially in an area where the ruling party enjoyed solid support. He said he was continuously in touch with the departments concerned seeking a relief package for the rehabilitation of the affected people.
ISLAMABAD: Despite the passage of over two years, no practical steps have been taken either by the federal or provincial governments to provide relief to the affected residents of Sonoghor village in the Mastuj tehsil of Chitral who were displaced by one of the biggest natural catastrophes in the history of the district.
On June 27, 2007, a glacier overlooking the scenic village burst and the avalanche/floodwater swept away houses, orchards, standing crops and other property. The mayhem continued for over three days and again hit the village one year later. As a result, as many as 115 families were displaced while 38 houses completely buried under the flood. The displaced residents have since been living in inhuman conditions in makeshift camps in nearby villages. Initially, they were provided relief items by some local NGOs who later also discontinued the assistance due to lack of funds.
Government officials and elected leaders have been making promises after promises to compensate and rehabilitate the affected people but so far no help has reached them. The residents also blocked the Chitral-Shandur road on the occasion of the annual polo tournament this year in protest against the government’s indifference to their sufferings and to convey their demands to the higher authorities. However, local officials in order to avoid any embarrassment again hoodwinked the people on false promises and got the road cleared.
Officials in the district could not be contacted for comments. However, MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin told this correspondent that in the year 2007 he had requested the then government to compensate the residents on a pattern similar to the affected people of the October 2005 earthquake in Hazara and Kashmir and help them rebuild the destroyed houses. He said the affected people in the earthquake zone were provided Rs175,000 per destroyed home by the government for reconstruction purposes.
“In spite of a surfeit of files travelling at high speed between the offices of the Provincial Relief Commissioner and the federal governments, no relief has been forthcoming for the poor residents,” he regretted.
He said continued inaction was projecting the government in poor light especially in an area where the ruling party enjoyed solid support. He said he was continuously in touch with the departments concerned seeking a relief package for the rehabilitation of the affected people.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Reduction in PIA flights to Chitral slammed
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly (MNA) from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin has criticised Pakistan International Airline (PIA) for reducing the number of flights on the Chitral route in complete disregards to the communication problems of the district.
Talking to this correspondent here on Saturday, he said the national flag carrier had recently diverted one of Chitral’s flights from Peshawar to Kabul besides giving another on Islamabad-Chitral route to Gilgit-Baltistan.
He said people of Chitral faced immense problems due to the closure of the only land route via the Lowari Pass in winter. This year, due to the military operation in the Malakand division, the valley remained cut-off from rest of the country even in summer. In this situation, the PIA flights become the only way of communication for the people of the area, he added.
Earlier the PIA operated 11 flights a week from Peshawar and daily one flight from Islamabad but now the number of flights from Peshawar has been reduced to six while Sunday’s flight from Islamabad has been diverted to Gilgit-Skardu route. Besides, the only one flight on Saturday from Peshawar has been shifted to Peshawar-Kabul route.
On the other hand, most of the flights from Peshawar are cancelled on the pretext of inclement weather leading to rush of passengers including women and elderly people both at Peshawar and Chitral who cannot travel by road through the Malakand division due to security reasons particularly after four Chitrali passengers were shot dead by Taliban militants in the Bajaur area this year.
He said instead of taking political decision on allocation of PIA aircraft for commercial flights, the authorities concerned should take into account the communication problems of Chitral which remains cut off from rest of the country due to absence of an all-weather route. He said the people of his area had rendered great sacrifices for maintenance of peace not only in their own district but also in other parts of the NWFP. In return, they should not be punished by snatching whatever facilities they have been availing for the last many years, he added.
The MNA also called upon the managing director of PIA, Capt Ejaz Haroon to consider Chitral as a special case and increase the flight on the route at least till the completion of Lowari Tunnel.
ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly (MNA) from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin has criticised Pakistan International Airline (PIA) for reducing the number of flights on the Chitral route in complete disregards to the communication problems of the district.
Talking to this correspondent here on Saturday, he said the national flag carrier had recently diverted one of Chitral’s flights from Peshawar to Kabul besides giving another on Islamabad-Chitral route to Gilgit-Baltistan.
He said people of Chitral faced immense problems due to the closure of the only land route via the Lowari Pass in winter. This year, due to the military operation in the Malakand division, the valley remained cut-off from rest of the country even in summer. In this situation, the PIA flights become the only way of communication for the people of the area, he added.
Earlier the PIA operated 11 flights a week from Peshawar and daily one flight from Islamabad but now the number of flights from Peshawar has been reduced to six while Sunday’s flight from Islamabad has been diverted to Gilgit-Skardu route. Besides, the only one flight on Saturday from Peshawar has been shifted to Peshawar-Kabul route.
On the other hand, most of the flights from Peshawar are cancelled on the pretext of inclement weather leading to rush of passengers including women and elderly people both at Peshawar and Chitral who cannot travel by road through the Malakand division due to security reasons particularly after four Chitrali passengers were shot dead by Taliban militants in the Bajaur area this year.
He said instead of taking political decision on allocation of PIA aircraft for commercial flights, the authorities concerned should take into account the communication problems of Chitral which remains cut off from rest of the country due to absence of an all-weather route. He said the people of his area had rendered great sacrifices for maintenance of peace not only in their own district but also in other parts of the NWFP. In return, they should not be punished by snatching whatever facilities they have been availing for the last many years, he added.
The MNA also called upon the managing director of PIA, Capt Ejaz Haroon to consider Chitral as a special case and increase the flight on the route at least till the completion of Lowari Tunnel.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Corruption, politics behind Chitral's power crisis
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: As Chitral is facing worst ever electricity crisis, a tug of war among the politicians coupled with rampant mismanagement and inefficiency of the local power utility officials have further compounded the miseries of the consumers leaving no room for resolution of the problem.
Though small hydropower units have been set up and are working efficiently even in remote villages of the valley through monetary and technical know-how provided by the private sector, power crisis in the main town having a population of about 40,000 has deteriorated during the last a couple of years.
The local power house generates about one megawatt; 1.2 megawatts are supplied from the Reshun hydropower station in the Mastuj tehsil while about 1.5 megawatts come from the national grid against the total demand of about three megawatts. However, the consumers allege that the Pesco officials show the production of Chitral town powerhouse at 600 kw and do not give account for the electricity coming from Reshun and the national grid.
The consumers say sufficient electricity is available in the town and more can be generated with ease, but local political leaders have messed up with the issue for their own vested interests. All the political leaders including the district nazim of Jamaat-i-Islami, a provincial minister belonging to the PPP and the PML-Q MNA have played games for their own vested interests. When one leader tries to resolve the issue, others waste no time to sabotage his efforts lest he gets credit for it.
Fed up with the power breakdowns some time stretching up to over 20 hours daily, thousands of consumers led by convener Movement for Restoration of Electricity Wg Cdr (retired) Fardad Ali Shah took to the streets recently demanding transparency in utilisation of the available electricity and investigation into alleged mismanagement, corruption and misuse of authority by the Pesco officials. Members of the movement claimed that the local power station was producing over one megawatt, its maximum rated output with two turbines, but there was no record where the remaining 400 kw was being utilised.
The powerhouse has 55 employees most of whom remain absent from duty. Strangely, each employee is enjoying 600 units free electricity which they scrounge up to 4,000 units by subletting free electricity to others.
The local powerhouse has five generators which are never operated even though fuel was provided for them by the local administration. The consumers said the resident engineer of the power house had refused to operate the generators. The consumers alleged that essential parts of the generators had already been sold out by the officials.
ISLAMABAD: As Chitral is facing worst ever electricity crisis, a tug of war among the politicians coupled with rampant mismanagement and inefficiency of the local power utility officials have further compounded the miseries of the consumers leaving no room for resolution of the problem.
Though small hydropower units have been set up and are working efficiently even in remote villages of the valley through monetary and technical know-how provided by the private sector, power crisis in the main town having a population of about 40,000 has deteriorated during the last a couple of years.
The local power house generates about one megawatt; 1.2 megawatts are supplied from the Reshun hydropower station in the Mastuj tehsil while about 1.5 megawatts come from the national grid against the total demand of about three megawatts. However, the consumers allege that the Pesco officials show the production of Chitral town powerhouse at 600 kw and do not give account for the electricity coming from Reshun and the national grid.
The consumers say sufficient electricity is available in the town and more can be generated with ease, but local political leaders have messed up with the issue for their own vested interests. All the political leaders including the district nazim of Jamaat-i-Islami, a provincial minister belonging to the PPP and the PML-Q MNA have played games for their own vested interests. When one leader tries to resolve the issue, others waste no time to sabotage his efforts lest he gets credit for it.
Fed up with the power breakdowns some time stretching up to over 20 hours daily, thousands of consumers led by convener Movement for Restoration of Electricity Wg Cdr (retired) Fardad Ali Shah took to the streets recently demanding transparency in utilisation of the available electricity and investigation into alleged mismanagement, corruption and misuse of authority by the Pesco officials. Members of the movement claimed that the local power station was producing over one megawatt, its maximum rated output with two turbines, but there was no record where the remaining 400 kw was being utilised.
The powerhouse has 55 employees most of whom remain absent from duty. Strangely, each employee is enjoying 600 units free electricity which they scrounge up to 4,000 units by subletting free electricity to others.
The local powerhouse has five generators which are never operated even though fuel was provided for them by the local administration. The consumers said the resident engineer of the power house had refused to operate the generators. The consumers alleged that essential parts of the generators had already been sold out by the officials.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Chitral demands share in Malakand fund
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Though exemplary peace prevails in Chitral, one of the districts of the Malakand division, the violence and subsequent military operation in Dir and Swat have left a devastating effect on the poverty-stricken people of the valley.
Chitral’s location among the rugged Hindukush mountains keeps it cut off from rest of the country for half of the year in winter. This year, however, Chitralis remain stranded even in summer due to the military operation in the Malakand division. Inside the valley, road infrastructure, healthcare and educational facilities are almost non-existent. The government allocates funds for districts on the basis of their populations due to which Chitral gets a paltry sum every year. However, with the operation in the region nearing conclusion, the residents of Chitral expect that the federal government would announce a special package to compensate the losses which they have suffered due to blockade of roads and collapse of the tourism industry.
Area-wise Chitral is the largest district of the NWFP and accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the Malakand division. Unlike the violence-affected districts, Chitral borders three lawless Afghan provinces of Kunar, Nooristan and Badakhshan in the west. It also opens through numerous passes to militancy-hit Swat and Dir districts in the southeast and south. When seen in such a geographical setting, Chitral could have very easily become a centre of attraction and safe haven for the fleeing Taliban militants. However, the people of the valley played their collective role in maintaining peace in the area.
MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin says time has come people of Chitral should be rewarded for their role in maintaining peace under the prevailing circumstances. “Otherwise, there is a danger that they would start thinking that peace has failed to bring them any dividend.” Should taking arms, breaking the law, killing innocent people and blowing up schools are a prerequisite to bring in development? There is a danger that the sense of deprivation can drive people towards a negative approach to attain their rights, he added.
In a letter to Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin, Mr Mohiuddin hailed the decision of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for allocating Rs50 billion for the Malakand division but warned that his area should not be excluded from the package because Chitral has indirectly suffered unprecedented economic losses due to the violence. He said at least 5 per cent of the amount should be set aside to make for the economic losses the current turmoil in the region has caused to Chitral.
He also urged Federal Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira and Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed of the Special Support Group not to ignore Chitral while allocating the funds for development of the violence affected districts.
ISLAMABAD: Though exemplary peace prevails in Chitral, one of the districts of the Malakand division, the violence and subsequent military operation in Dir and Swat have left a devastating effect on the poverty-stricken people of the valley.
Chitral’s location among the rugged Hindukush mountains keeps it cut off from rest of the country for half of the year in winter. This year, however, Chitralis remain stranded even in summer due to the military operation in the Malakand division. Inside the valley, road infrastructure, healthcare and educational facilities are almost non-existent. The government allocates funds for districts on the basis of their populations due to which Chitral gets a paltry sum every year. However, with the operation in the region nearing conclusion, the residents of Chitral expect that the federal government would announce a special package to compensate the losses which they have suffered due to blockade of roads and collapse of the tourism industry.
Area-wise Chitral is the largest district of the NWFP and accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the Malakand division. Unlike the violence-affected districts, Chitral borders three lawless Afghan provinces of Kunar, Nooristan and Badakhshan in the west. It also opens through numerous passes to militancy-hit Swat and Dir districts in the southeast and south. When seen in such a geographical setting, Chitral could have very easily become a centre of attraction and safe haven for the fleeing Taliban militants. However, the people of the valley played their collective role in maintaining peace in the area.
MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin says time has come people of Chitral should be rewarded for their role in maintaining peace under the prevailing circumstances. “Otherwise, there is a danger that they would start thinking that peace has failed to bring them any dividend.” Should taking arms, breaking the law, killing innocent people and blowing up schools are a prerequisite to bring in development? There is a danger that the sense of deprivation can drive people towards a negative approach to attain their rights, he added.
In a letter to Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin, Mr Mohiuddin hailed the decision of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for allocating Rs50 billion for the Malakand division but warned that his area should not be excluded from the package because Chitral has indirectly suffered unprecedented economic losses due to the violence. He said at least 5 per cent of the amount should be set aside to make for the economic losses the current turmoil in the region has caused to Chitral.
He also urged Federal Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira and Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed of the Special Support Group not to ignore Chitral while allocating the funds for development of the violence affected districts.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Koreans refuse to restart work on Lowari Tunnel
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, June 27: A meeting held to discuss resumption of work on the Lowari Rail Tunnel project here on Saturday failed to persuade the Korean company officials to return to the site.
The Koreans Sambu company officials expressed their inability to move to the site in Upper Dir and resume work due to security concerns, a participant of the meeting told Dawn.
However, on the assurance of the elected representatives from Chitral and Dir that they would be provided foolproof security, the Korean consultants and workers sought more time to reach the final decision after consulting their government, he added.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Communication Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan, Minister of State for Communication Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Waraich, Minister for Frontier Regions Najmuddin Khan from Dir; MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin and MPA Ghulam Mohammad from Chitral, besides the chairman and other officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA).
Work on the project was suspended with the launch of the ongoing military operation in Malakand division. The Korean Sambu company officials and consultants from other countries, who have been shifted to Islamabad after suspension of the work, referred to media reports of law and order situation and killings in the region and expressed their inability to move back to the site to resume work.
When told by the representatives from Chitral that there was complete peace in their valley and they could restart the work from the northern portal, the Koreans maintained that due to the prevailing security situation and curfew in the Malakand division, supply of construction material and other equipment from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi had stopped.
The first phase of the project was completed in January this year and the second and final phase was to finish in 2010 according to the original plan. However, the suspension of work on the project for an indefinite period due to the current security situation in the tunnel’s southern site in Upper Dir has created concerns among the people of Chitral that the tunnel may not be completed on time.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Former MPA Maulana Jehangir passes away
CHITRAL: Former MPA from PF-90 Chitral-II and the district chief of Jamiat Ulemai-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Jehangir has died of cardiac arrest. He was 60 years of age. He suffered a massive heart atatck at Singoor and was rushed to the DHQ hospital Chitral where he died at about 6.15pm. Maulana Jehangir was elected MPA from the platform of the MMA in the elections 2002 from upper Chitral and remained a member of the NWFP assembly till a few months before the general elections of February 2008.
It may be noted here that three other persons died of cardiac arrest within the last about 24 hours in Chitral. Maulana Jehangir had reportedly gone to offer condolence in the house of one of the deceased where he suffered heart attack.
Chitral Today expresses its deepest shock over the untimely death of Maulana Jehangir and pray to God to rest the soul in eternal peace and give courage to the family to bear the irreparable loss. (Ameen)--Bashir Hussain Azad
It may be noted here that three other persons died of cardiac arrest within the last about 24 hours in Chitral. Maulana Jehangir had reportedly gone to offer condolence in the house of one of the deceased where he suffered heart attack.
Chitral Today expresses its deepest shock over the untimely death of Maulana Jehangir and pray to God to rest the soul in eternal peace and give courage to the family to bear the irreparable loss. (Ameen)--Bashir Hussain Azad
Friday, June 19, 2009
PTV's apathy towards Chitrali martyrs - Letters
This refers to the letter by Bashir Hussain Azad published in Chitral Today on June 19, regarding PTV's coverage of the martyrs of Malakand operation. I fully agree with the writer that PTV has totally ignored the martyrs from NWFP particularly those from Chitral. Eight soldiers of Chitral Scouts laid down their lives on the first day of the operation in Maidan of Dir Lower in defense of their motherland and the bodies of the shuhada were flown to Chitral in one day and PTV or any other channel even did not mention their shahadat in their news bulletins let alone paying tributes to them. The number of martyrs from Chitral has been multiplying since then and their bodies are flown to Chitral and buried quietly. No TV channel, newspaper except a few Chitrali online newspapers mentioned the brilliant sacrifice of their lives in defense of Pakistan by these brave sons of Chitral. This is not first time that Chitrali soldiers and officers have offered their lives in defense of their motherland. This is a historical fact that Chitral has been offering its sons to save Pakistan since 1948 war with India. Nearly 80 shuhada from Chitral sacrificed their lives in Kargil misadventure.
The leading television channels do not tire creating hype by scandalizing trivial events and small issues but have badly failed to highlight the great sacrifice rendered by those brave sons of the soil. We Chitralis are extremely frustrated and disappointed over the apathy of our television channels particularly our national television PTV.
Sultan Mehmood
Garam Chashma, Chitral
----------------------------------------------------
Pakistan Television gives coverage to the martyrs of war in Swat and Waziristan frequently but in most of the cases the martyrs covered by the channel are from Punjab. Soldiers and junior officers of the Army who are martyred also hail from NWFP. I am watching PTV telecasting exclusive programmes on martyrs from Punjab and Balochistan and not on those belonging to NWFP. I would particularly refer to Samiullah Shaheed, who hailed from Koghozi in Chitral. As a coincidence, his father's name is Pakistan and a son of “Pakistan” from NWFP sacrificed his life for Pakistan, the homeland of 170 million people.
I wish NWFP had its own television channel or any industrialist from this province had a TV channel of his own, so that martyrs of the ongoing war for Pakistan could be given proper coverage. We are fed up with alien channel and bipartisan publicity.
Bashir Hussain Azad,
Chitral.
The leading television channels do not tire creating hype by scandalizing trivial events and small issues but have badly failed to highlight the great sacrifice rendered by those brave sons of the soil. We Chitralis are extremely frustrated and disappointed over the apathy of our television channels particularly our national television PTV.
Sultan Mehmood
Garam Chashma, Chitral
----------------------------------------------------
Pakistan Television gives coverage to the martyrs of war in Swat and Waziristan frequently but in most of the cases the martyrs covered by the channel are from Punjab. Soldiers and junior officers of the Army who are martyred also hail from NWFP. I am watching PTV telecasting exclusive programmes on martyrs from Punjab and Balochistan and not on those belonging to NWFP. I would particularly refer to Samiullah Shaheed, who hailed from Koghozi in Chitral. As a coincidence, his father's name is Pakistan and a son of “Pakistan” from NWFP sacrificed his life for Pakistan, the homeland of 170 million people.
I wish NWFP had its own television channel or any industrialist from this province had a TV channel of his own, so that martyrs of the ongoing war for Pakistan could be given proper coverage. We are fed up with alien channel and bipartisan publicity.
Bashir Hussain Azad,
Chitral.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Call to operate C-130s to Chitral
By Zar Alam Khan
RAWALPINDI: A large number of students and their parents belonging to Chitral have been unable to visit the valley during the summer vacations due to the blockade of the road and unavailability of seats on PIA’s Islamabad-Chitral flights.
A visit to PIA’s booking office in Rawalpindi showed crowds of people scrambling for reservation of seats. However, most of them returned empty-handed after being informed that seats were not available till the end of this month.
Most of the passengers said they had been visiting the office to reserve seats for the last many weeks, but without any success.
They said each year they visited their native villages in Chitral during the summer vacations. However, this summer they were still unable to proceed to the valley as the road via Mardan and Dir remained blocked due to the ongoing military operation and curfew in the region.
Some people are still travelling through Dir after taking a long detour via Bajaur Agency. However, most of the passengers, especially those accompanied by women and children, avoid travelling on the route due to security concerns.
The PIA operates one flight daily from Islamabad to Chitral but mostly it is cancelled due to inclement weather particularly on the 10,500-foot-high Lowari Pass.
A large number of Chitralis living in Karachi, Lahore and other cities have also reached here en route to Chitral but they too are unable to proceed due to unavailability of seats in the PIA flights and road blockade in the Malakand Division through which Chitral is reached.
Talking to Dawn, most of the passengers said the government should make arrangements to end the blockade of the valley and as a first step increase the number of PIA flights or operate C-130s on the route.
The passengers said due to deteriorating law and order situation in the NWFP, particularly after the suicide attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, they could not go to Peshawar for onward journey to Chitral. Therefore, they said, the national flag-carrier should operate at least two flights daily from Islamabad to Chitral.
They also called upon their elected representatives to take up the issue with the authorities concerned and get a special package announced for ending their communication problems till the situation in the Malakand Division normalised.
RAWALPINDI: A large number of students and their parents belonging to Chitral have been unable to visit the valley during the summer vacations due to the blockade of the road and unavailability of seats on PIA’s Islamabad-Chitral flights.
A visit to PIA’s booking office in Rawalpindi showed crowds of people scrambling for reservation of seats. However, most of them returned empty-handed after being informed that seats were not available till the end of this month.
Most of the passengers said they had been visiting the office to reserve seats for the last many weeks, but without any success.
They said each year they visited their native villages in Chitral during the summer vacations. However, this summer they were still unable to proceed to the valley as the road via Mardan and Dir remained blocked due to the ongoing military operation and curfew in the region.
Some people are still travelling through Dir after taking a long detour via Bajaur Agency. However, most of the passengers, especially those accompanied by women and children, avoid travelling on the route due to security concerns.
The PIA operates one flight daily from Islamabad to Chitral but mostly it is cancelled due to inclement weather particularly on the 10,500-foot-high Lowari Pass.
A large number of Chitralis living in Karachi, Lahore and other cities have also reached here en route to Chitral but they too are unable to proceed due to unavailability of seats in the PIA flights and road blockade in the Malakand Division through which Chitral is reached.
Talking to Dawn, most of the passengers said the government should make arrangements to end the blockade of the valley and as a first step increase the number of PIA flights or operate C-130s on the route.
The passengers said due to deteriorating law and order situation in the NWFP, particularly after the suicide attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, they could not go to Peshawar for onward journey to Chitral. Therefore, they said, the national flag-carrier should operate at least two flights daily from Islamabad to Chitral.
They also called upon their elected representatives to take up the issue with the authorities concerned and get a special package announced for ending their communication problems till the situation in the Malakand Division normalised.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Update on Chitral
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Sunday, June 7, 2009
Over 40,000 people stranded as bridge in Chitral's Yarkhun valley awaits reconstruction
Dawn
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The government’s failure to reconstruct a bridge in a far-off valley of Chitral has left its over 40,000 residents stranded for the fourth consecutive summer this year.
The bridge on the Yarkhun river near Khotanlasht was constructed in 1980 but it collapsed in August 2006 due to lack of maintenance cutting off the over 100-km-long valley of over 50 scattered villages stretching up to the Boroghil Pass bordering the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan.
As a result, the area has been facing a crisis-like situation in the absence of supplies of essential commodities and basic healthcare facilities. Ironically, there is even no basic healthcare centre in the entire valley and a dispensary set up in the Dizg village was also closed down a few years ago. The worse affected are patients needing emergency medical treatment including aged people, women and children. Besides, due to absence of transport, people have to travel on foot from the destroyed bridge to reach their villages and vice versa.
Hundreds of students including girls from the four villages near the collapsed bridge have to attend their schools situated in Brep village across the river. When the bridge collapsed, they remained out of school for three months till a pedestrian bridge was set up at the site. Crossing the dangling and quite long suspension bridge is like playing with one’s life. Early in the morning and in the afternoon, crowds of students can be seen on the bank of the river waiting for their turn to cross the bridge one by one, as the bridge is also used by other people and for shifting of luggage, etc. The residents said they had been going through mental distress and were also concerned about the safety of their children. One person has already lost his life while crossing the river.
Though the reconstruction of the bridge could take hardly one or two months, too many political stakeholders have complicated the matter to achieve their own vested interest making the residents suffer. As the area is far off and has no communication links, the affected people’s pleas after pleas for resolution of the problem have fell on deaf ears despite the fact that their political representatives had made promises to reconstruct the bridge on many occasions.
During the last about three years, every political party hoodwinked the people and sent contractors to the site who carried out some groundwork that too by fits and starts and then disappeared. So far, work on the project has been started and closed for fourth time but there is no hope that the work presently going on at a snail’s pace at the site would be completed any time soon.
When the bridge was washed away, the then provincial government of the MMA deliberately put the project into the cold storage and did not release the required funds on time. However, MMA’s successors in the province turned out to be more callous and did the same with the project. In the 2008 elections, the PML-Q candidates Shahzada Mohiuddin and Ghulam Mohammad returned to the National and the provincial assemblies mainly through the votes of the Yarkhun valley after promising to reconstruct the bridge as a priority project. But after reaching the assemblies, these two leaders have also been buying time on one pretext or the other. Instead of ensuring the reconstruction of the bridge, the MPA made it a publicity opportunity and proudly opened a plaque in his name on April 21, 2008, declaring that work on reconstruction of the bridge has been started. Had there been political will to resolve the public issue, the bridge would have so far been reconstructed, regretted the residents.
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The government’s failure to reconstruct a bridge in a far-off valley of Chitral has left its over 40,000 residents stranded for the fourth consecutive summer this year.
The bridge on the Yarkhun river near Khotanlasht was constructed in 1980 but it collapsed in August 2006 due to lack of maintenance cutting off the over 100-km-long valley of over 50 scattered villages stretching up to the Boroghil Pass bordering the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan.
As a result, the area has been facing a crisis-like situation in the absence of supplies of essential commodities and basic healthcare facilities. Ironically, there is even no basic healthcare centre in the entire valley and a dispensary set up in the Dizg village was also closed down a few years ago. The worse affected are patients needing emergency medical treatment including aged people, women and children. Besides, due to absence of transport, people have to travel on foot from the destroyed bridge to reach their villages and vice versa.
Hundreds of students including girls from the four villages near the collapsed bridge have to attend their schools situated in Brep village across the river. When the bridge collapsed, they remained out of school for three months till a pedestrian bridge was set up at the site. Crossing the dangling and quite long suspension bridge is like playing with one’s life. Early in the morning and in the afternoon, crowds of students can be seen on the bank of the river waiting for their turn to cross the bridge one by one, as the bridge is also used by other people and for shifting of luggage, etc. The residents said they had been going through mental distress and were also concerned about the safety of their children. One person has already lost his life while crossing the river.
Though the reconstruction of the bridge could take hardly one or two months, too many political stakeholders have complicated the matter to achieve their own vested interest making the residents suffer. As the area is far off and has no communication links, the affected people’s pleas after pleas for resolution of the problem have fell on deaf ears despite the fact that their political representatives had made promises to reconstruct the bridge on many occasions.
During the last about three years, every political party hoodwinked the people and sent contractors to the site who carried out some groundwork that too by fits and starts and then disappeared. So far, work on the project has been started and closed for fourth time but there is no hope that the work presently going on at a snail’s pace at the site would be completed any time soon.
When the bridge was washed away, the then provincial government of the MMA deliberately put the project into the cold storage and did not release the required funds on time. However, MMA’s successors in the province turned out to be more callous and did the same with the project. In the 2008 elections, the PML-Q candidates Shahzada Mohiuddin and Ghulam Mohammad returned to the National and the provincial assemblies mainly through the votes of the Yarkhun valley after promising to reconstruct the bridge as a priority project. But after reaching the assemblies, these two leaders have also been buying time on one pretext or the other. Instead of ensuring the reconstruction of the bridge, the MPA made it a publicity opportunity and proudly opened a plaque in his name on April 21, 2008, declaring that work on reconstruction of the bridge has been started. Had there been political will to resolve the public issue, the bridge would have so far been reconstructed, regretted the residents.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
the last breaths of Kalasha language in Kalkatak village of Chitral
By Fakhruddin
According to linguistic experts, 6,000 languages in the world will reduce to half in the middle of this century if language shifting continued in the same rate as it is now. Speakers of a minority language shift to a majority language due to many reasons.
In our county, a number of languages are endangered. Kalasha is one of them. Kalasha, the language spoken by a minority in Chitral, is threatened of extinction because its speakers are adopting the major language of Chitral, Khowar. The best example of this shift is the village of Kalkatak in southern Chitral. The inhabitants of Kalkatak have changed their mother-tongue three times during the last century.
They gave up Kalasha, adopted Palula, and then abandoned Palula for Khowar. Now, the last remnants of the Kalasha language will soon disappear from the village.
At the beginning of the last century, the language of Kalkatak was Kalasha, an Indo-Aryan language; and the language of an ancient tribe also called Kalasha, which today lives in three valleys in Chitral, Bumboret, Rumbur and Birir. There are only about a dozen elderly people living in Kalkatak who still know Kalasha, but they do not like to speak it. The Kalasha language will be extinct from the village with the death of this handful of people.
Muhammad Wali Shah, an elderly man of 72, says: "The people with whom I used to speak Kalasha in my childhood, do not like to speak it now". He added that until 60s, he could still find some company with whom to speak the language, but after that no one likes to converse in the language.
Kalasha was still dominant in the village in the 30s. No one had yet left it for Palula or Khowar, and some non-Kalasha speakers had even learnt it. Salah Khan, another elderly man, says: "My father was a Khowar speaker who immigrated to the village from Madak and married a Kalasha woman of the village. There was Kalasha in my home and this is why I know Kalasha".
Rahim Khan, a man of 40 and a son of Kalasha parents, does not know Kalasha at all, but speaks Palula. He says "I learnt Kalasha from my parents along with Palula and Khowar in my childhood, but later on I forgot the language, since Palula was so dominating." He speaks Palula with his children.
The people of Kalkatak gave up Kalasha because they felt inferior, and because it was easy to adopt other languages. In the time of the Kator ruler, all Kalasha of the area were in the Rayat class -- the lowest class. The people of the upper classes were using 'Kalash' as a derogatory term for the people. The people were hesitant to speak the language in front of Khowar speakers. The difficulties increased further when a fort was constructed in the village in 1930 for the son of a Khowar-speaking ruler, and many Khowar speakers came to the village with the prince.
Wasim Khan, born in 1937, says: "The people of Kalkatak gave up Kalasha because they felt inferior. Other tribes in the area considered the Kalasha inferior in status, and because of the Kalasha language this inferiority was more visible. The people of Kalkatak thought that people considered them inferior because they spoke Kalasha."
The villagers already knew Palula and Khowar along with their mother tongue and they had no difficulty in adopting either of these languages. The interaction and intermarriage of the villagers with Palula speakers from the Biori valley had already made them fluent in Palula. For a long time they were speaking these languages along with Kalasha.
Khoshani, an old lady of the village, says: "My parents were Kalasha speakers and my mother-tongue was Kalasha. I used to speak Kalasha as long as I was with my parents. I stopped it when I married and began to speak Palula. My mother-in-law was a Palula speaker from Biori and the language in my parents-in-laws' house was Palula."
Muhammad Salim, an influential Kalasha man, migrated to Biori Valley with his family to protect himself from enforced labour under the mehtar. He stayed there for a long time and came back to the village with the Palula language. His children spoke Palula. The summer-pastures of the villager also lie at the eastern end of the Biori valley. The people of Kalkatak had to go through the valley with their goats in order to get there. The shepherds of both language communities had a lot of interaction with each other while in the pastures.
The inhabitants of a small village called Serdur, near Kalkatak, are immigrants from Biori. They have been there for three generations. They still speak Palula, and depend on Kalkatak for many things. Until recently, they had no graveyard or Mosque, and they still come to Kalkatak for the Eid prayers.
To the people of Kalkatak, 'Kalasha' was a term not only used for a language but also for a tribe who were considered inferior, and, perhaps more importantly, for a religion which was considered infidel. To them, speaking Kalasha meant being perceived as inferior and infidel. Although the people of Kalkatak had given up the Kalasha religion long ago, they had kept the language.
Meanwhile, the Kalasha of Suwir - a village across the river to the west of Kalkatak - took an oath never again to speak Kalasha. The villagers collectively gave up the language. This must have had a great effect on the people of kalkatak.
The Kalasha language is taking its last breath in the village of Kalkatak. The few speakers of Kalasha in the village are in their seventies. With the death of these people the last symbol of the Kalasha tradition will disappear from the village forever.
According to linguistic experts, 6,000 languages in the world will reduce to half in the middle of this century if language shifting continued in the same rate as it is now. Speakers of a minority language shift to a majority language due to many reasons.
In our county, a number of languages are endangered. Kalasha is one of them. Kalasha, the language spoken by a minority in Chitral, is threatened of extinction because its speakers are adopting the major language of Chitral, Khowar. The best example of this shift is the village of Kalkatak in southern Chitral. The inhabitants of Kalkatak have changed their mother-tongue three times during the last century.
They gave up Kalasha, adopted Palula, and then abandoned Palula for Khowar. Now, the last remnants of the Kalasha language will soon disappear from the village.
At the beginning of the last century, the language of Kalkatak was Kalasha, an Indo-Aryan language; and the language of an ancient tribe also called Kalasha, which today lives in three valleys in Chitral, Bumboret, Rumbur and Birir. There are only about a dozen elderly people living in Kalkatak who still know Kalasha, but they do not like to speak it. The Kalasha language will be extinct from the village with the death of this handful of people.
Muhammad Wali Shah, an elderly man of 72, says: "The people with whom I used to speak Kalasha in my childhood, do not like to speak it now". He added that until 60s, he could still find some company with whom to speak the language, but after that no one likes to converse in the language.
Kalasha was still dominant in the village in the 30s. No one had yet left it for Palula or Khowar, and some non-Kalasha speakers had even learnt it. Salah Khan, another elderly man, says: "My father was a Khowar speaker who immigrated to the village from Madak and married a Kalasha woman of the village. There was Kalasha in my home and this is why I know Kalasha".
Rahim Khan, a man of 40 and a son of Kalasha parents, does not know Kalasha at all, but speaks Palula. He says "I learnt Kalasha from my parents along with Palula and Khowar in my childhood, but later on I forgot the language, since Palula was so dominating." He speaks Palula with his children.
The people of Kalkatak gave up Kalasha because they felt inferior, and because it was easy to adopt other languages. In the time of the Kator ruler, all Kalasha of the area were in the Rayat class -- the lowest class. The people of the upper classes were using 'Kalash' as a derogatory term for the people. The people were hesitant to speak the language in front of Khowar speakers. The difficulties increased further when a fort was constructed in the village in 1930 for the son of a Khowar-speaking ruler, and many Khowar speakers came to the village with the prince.
Wasim Khan, born in 1937, says: "The people of Kalkatak gave up Kalasha because they felt inferior. Other tribes in the area considered the Kalasha inferior in status, and because of the Kalasha language this inferiority was more visible. The people of Kalkatak thought that people considered them inferior because they spoke Kalasha."
The villagers already knew Palula and Khowar along with their mother tongue and they had no difficulty in adopting either of these languages. The interaction and intermarriage of the villagers with Palula speakers from the Biori valley had already made them fluent in Palula. For a long time they were speaking these languages along with Kalasha.
Khoshani, an old lady of the village, says: "My parents were Kalasha speakers and my mother-tongue was Kalasha. I used to speak Kalasha as long as I was with my parents. I stopped it when I married and began to speak Palula. My mother-in-law was a Palula speaker from Biori and the language in my parents-in-laws' house was Palula."
Muhammad Salim, an influential Kalasha man, migrated to Biori Valley with his family to protect himself from enforced labour under the mehtar. He stayed there for a long time and came back to the village with the Palula language. His children spoke Palula. The summer-pastures of the villager also lie at the eastern end of the Biori valley. The people of Kalkatak had to go through the valley with their goats in order to get there. The shepherds of both language communities had a lot of interaction with each other while in the pastures.
The inhabitants of a small village called Serdur, near Kalkatak, are immigrants from Biori. They have been there for three generations. They still speak Palula, and depend on Kalkatak for many things. Until recently, they had no graveyard or Mosque, and they still come to Kalkatak for the Eid prayers.
To the people of Kalkatak, 'Kalasha' was a term not only used for a language but also for a tribe who were considered inferior, and, perhaps more importantly, for a religion which was considered infidel. To them, speaking Kalasha meant being perceived as inferior and infidel. Although the people of Kalkatak had given up the Kalasha religion long ago, they had kept the language.
Meanwhile, the Kalasha of Suwir - a village across the river to the west of Kalkatak - took an oath never again to speak Kalasha. The villagers collectively gave up the language. This must have had a great effect on the people of kalkatak.
The Kalasha language is taking its last breath in the village of Kalkatak. The few speakers of Kalasha in the village are in their seventies. With the death of these people the last symbol of the Kalasha tradition will disappear from the village forever.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Why don't we care for our displaced brothers? - Letters
This is with reference to the letter by Sherzad Ali Hyder in
which instead of giving answer to my earlier letter he has
tried to divert attention from the actual issue and also
expressed grave concern over the attitude of the young
generation of Chitral. The most interesting aspect of the
letter was his idea of research which he thinks will help
in changing the Chitralis, specially the youth.
I would like to correct the gentleman that Chitrali youth do
not need any research to find out that their thinking is
negative or positive; what they need is to identify the
self-centered elements among them due to which the
people of Chitral have been suffering since long.
The very recent example is the fund raising campaign in the
name of Lowari Tunnel and the way it was used by some
individuals. Had there been awareness amongst the people
who gathered these funds, the money would not have been
used in such a wasteful manner.
Why the gentleman has become so personal is another
point to ponder. It clearly shows he has no material
defence in support of the said NGO.
Secondly, I would like to make it clear that being a
journalist, I am duty bound to speak for Chitral and expose
those who work against its interests. If a journalist does
not point the weaknesses of any person or an organization
playing with the innocence of the masses, it would be
dereliction of duty, lack of professionalism and in many
cases favouritism.
Zulfiqar Ahmad
Islamabad
-------------------------
This letter refers to Qazi Fazal Elahi's letter and reaction of Mr. Zulfiqar Ahmad. I would like to make two simple points. Qazi's argument is valid and considerable number of Chitralis in Rawalpindi/Islamabad is resourceful, therefore they can contribute for the mentioned cause. Since CDF is accountable to its members thus Mr. Zulfiqar's demand is fair enough and CDF should give an account of the progress. However, the objective judgment of Mr. Zulfiqar about CDF' activities may not be correct as he does not qualify for such sweeping statement as single individual no matter how well educated, strong intellectual and seasoned analyst he is. I do not appose the criticism, as it always guides individuals and organizations in gauging their paths for direction and one cannot claim hundred percent successes is struggle. This is inherited (at least I admit) problem with majority of Chitrali who highlight the weaknesses and avoid to look at positive aspects of the same thing. This behavior is reflected in the reactions of majority of our young generation to any issue. A thorough social research may be required to determine the causes of such an established mindset and attitude which is socially destructive. This may further increase the process of social division in our society which is already fragile.
Sherzad Ali Hyder
Islamabad
---------------------------------------
I am writing these lines after going through the letter of Qazi Fazal Elahi (May 12) in which he has lamented the apathy of Chitralis towards their Muslim brothers displaced from Malakand Division.
Qazi Sahib refers to a recently formed NGO called Chitral Development Forum and says it "collected approximately Rs1600,000 for the purposes of a mega cultural show and a seminar on Lowari Tunnel. It means Chitralis and Chitrali NGOs have the capability to play their role and contribute their share on humanitarian grounds as and when needed."
Nobody can disagree with the writer about the capabilities of the Chitralis. However, recent history of the so-called welfare organizations launched by Chitralis leaves much to be desired. The NGO referred to above collected huge donations from Chitralis living in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in the name of Lowari Tunnel and promising that over 22 ambassadors and scores of federal ministers were to attend the seminar in Serena Hotel aimed to bring development to Chitral. However, the seminar turned out to be a closed door debate of stereotypes while the so-called cultural show even brought embarrassment to the organizers let alone demonstrate the true culture of the proud people of Chitral.
My request to the honorable Qazi Sahib is: Can he ask the NGO to give account of the money collected in the name of Chitral. Otherwise, the confidence of the people of Chitral on civil society organizations will further shatter and the Chitralis will remain a silent spectator to human sufferings as in the case of Malakand Division.
Zulfiqar Ahmad
Islamabad
--------------------------
In the light of tradition reported from the holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the
Muslims have been enjoined to provide assistance to their Muslim brothers
whether they are oppressed or oppressor. As a result of the ongoing fighting
between the armed forces and militants, one and half million people of
Malakand including women and children have shifted to relatively peaceful
parts of the country. Various political parties, organizations and NGOs and
other kind-hearted individuals and families are extending support to the
violence affected people of Malakand.In this time of need, the Chitralis and
Chitrali welfare organizations are nowhere in the list of those extending
support to these less fortunate Muslim brothers and sisters. The absence
of Chitralis and various welfare organizations in providing relief to violence
affected people of Malakand is felt greatly. It is worth mentioning that the
recently formed Chitral Development Forum had collected approximately
Rs1600,000 for the purposes of mega cultural show and a seminar on
Lowari Tunnel. It means that the Chitralis and Chitrali welfare
organizations have the capability to play their role and contribute their
share on humanitarian grounds as and when needed.
The Chitrali doctors, lawyers, traders' unions, govt employees and public
in general must come forward and help their brothers.
Qazi Fazal Elahi
Islamabad
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