Interview: Forget your differences, work for Chitral
Report Alhaj Muhammad Khan of Charun
CHITRAL, May 16: After being re-elected as member of the provincial assembly (MPA) from PK-89 lower Chitral for the second consecutive time, PPP leader and former provincial minister Salim Khan has advised all political leaders of Chitral to forget their petty differences and jointly work for the betterment of the people of the backward area.
In an interview with ChitralToday correspondent Alhaj Muhammad Khan at his residence in Chitral, Salim Khan attributed his victory to the development work which he carried out in the constituency during the five-year-long PPP government. It may be noted that Salim Khan remained provincial minister for population welfare from 2008 to 2013.
The following is the excerpt of the interview:
Chitraltoday.net: First of all, congratulations on behalf of ChitralToday and its entire team for your re-election as a member of the provincial assembly from PK-89 lower Chitral for the second time. What would you like to say about your victory?
Salim Khan: Thank you. It is a blessing of Almighty Allah who gave me success once again and I also would like to thank the people of my constituency for reposing trust in me. In the context of Chitral, it is very difficult to be re-elected. I have got the honour of becoming MPA for the second time after serving the area as a provincial minister and before that as the district naib nazim.
CTN: What were the main factors that led to your success this time?
SK: Chitral has been a backward area since independence. The Pakistan People’s Party formed the KPK coalition government after the 2008 elections and as a minister in the provincial cabinet I did my level best to address the issues the people of Chitral were facing and started a number of development works in different sectors.
CTN: You remained in the KPK Assembly for five years and also worked as a minister, would this experience help you better serve the public in your second tenure?
SK: Well, it’s true that I have had adequate experience of working with political leadership and provincial bureaucracy and it will certainly help me work better in this term. And I am very hopeful that I would complete the ongoing projects that we had started in the last government.
CTN: Do you think that you got the public mandate again because of your good work and if so what are you plans to do as an MPA now?
SK: As far as your question is concerned, I am concerned about the energy deficiency in Chitral. I have a plan for the upgradation of the hydel power supply in Chitral, completion of Lowari tunnel, bypass road, Golan Gole project and other schemes in the energy sector besides construction of roads and completion of the hydropower projects in different parts of lower Chitral.
CTN: During electioneering which party or candidate gave you a tough time?
SK: Well, every party candidate used all options to get public support but like the elections of 2008 I was thinking that the JUI would give me a tough time this time. However, the APML candidate turned out to be very strong because he had the patronage of the veteran and ‘guru of politics’ Shahzada Muhiuddin. Apart from that, the APML used the card of Musharraf against me, though the party had publicly boycotted the elections. But at the end, it was the trust of the people in me because of my sincere services that gave me the majority votes.
CTN: Again I would like to ask you which project will be on your priority number one?
SK: I am committed to working for the development of Chitral and my constituency. I have a plan for upgrading the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Campus and Abdul Wali Khan University Campus into fully-fledged universities. I will also try to resume work on the bypass road and black-topping of Garam Chashma road.
CTN: As you know the people of KPK in this election have given mandate to PTI and this party will form government in the province. Would it not be difficult for you to work with the new government led by a new party?
SK: Well, of course, but it would also be a challenge for the PTI to form a new model government and come up to the expectations of the people of KPK what they had promised for, and for me as well to work with them. It is again the party leadership of the PPP which will decide about its representatives either to be in the coalition government or sit in the opposition in KPK assembly.
CTN: Any message you would like to give and share with the people of Chitral generally and your constituency particularly?
CN: Through the esteemed online newspaper paper of Chitral, first I would again like to forward a token of thanks to the people of my constituency for having trust on me and giving their precious votes for me. Availing this opportunity, I would also like to advise other political leaders of Chitral to get united under one umbrella without considering their affiliations with political parties, sect, self-interest and region for serving the people, addressing the issues and meeting public demands of the common interest of the people of Chitral and I will make all-out efforts to meet the expectations of the people of my area.
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Congratulations on your success but why you did’t think this before?
Sorry to say, where were you before this? What did you do for Chitral when the whole govt was yours.
Actually, Salim Khan remained busy in minting money for complete five years without paying any attention to the sufferings of poor Chitralis. It is alleged that he even purchased jungle worth Rs8 million in Arandu besides making huge property in the federal capital. Now he is well established and talking tall by comfortably sitting in his newly-constructed grand bungalow, which he has built through the hard-earned money of the taxpayers. At the moment, he is wealthiest man in Chitral and is trying to hoodwink the innocent people by greasing the palms of some local exploiters. If he failed to do anything during his five years stint as a provincial minister, when his own party (PPP) was in power at the center, one should not expect that he can do any good this time when his party will be sitting in the opposition with just two seats in the provincial assembly. Salim Khan has emerged as the sole beneficiary of the previous corrupt PPP government and people must not expect anything from him. He is a failed politician and will never be able to do anything for the development of the area. His agents played a very important role during the elections and in some of the poling stations in Lotkoh, his home area, there were reports of massive rigging. A woman of the area, known for her “Black Magic” skills, reportedly also played a very important role at the last minute when it became crystal clear that poor Salim Khan was all set to bite the dust. By the way, Salim Khan has got a very good peer and both of them will go down the drain together at end of the day. Good luck buddy, I really regretted when I came to know that you won the elections, because corrupt people should have been made an example otherwise mafias will continue ruining the future of Chitral. With you and contractor-turned-lawmaker Ghulam Mohammad returning to the assembly, I cannot see any better future for the people of Chitral.
I think the re-election of Mr Salim Khan is the result of his humility, down-to-earth nature and his humble background. He has tried his level best to serve the people of Chitral and his constituency. My suggestion to the hon’bl MPA would be to shun nepotism and favouritism. Forget about your relatives and try to serve the people on merit. Focus on a few projects which are of interest and benefit to the public instead of doing favours on a few kith and kin. Black topping the Garam Chashma road, upgradation of the THQ hospital with the facility of laboratory and X-ray machine, appointing a lady doctor over there to cater to the need of 50% female population and establishing small health centres with the facility of a small pharmacy and the stock of life-saving drugs and last but not the least negotiating with the mobile companies to widen their network to the whole of Garam Chashma area should be the top priority. The bottom line is ‘ijtimai kamo par tawajju dain and azizoa and rishtadaroa k infiradi kamo se apni credibility aur honesty par harf na aane dain’!!
Congratulations.
Highly appreciate your positive thinking.You definitely deserve to represent respectable Chitralis.
Congratulations Bro, and we expect the same from both of you, a good team no matter what party you belong to. Chitral’s development should be the priority.
Your duty is just to allocate MPA’s funds, you cannot support people personally. So please do it honestly although Chitralis deserve hypocrisy.
بہت ہی اچھی بات کی ہے ، اور امید ہے کے ان باتوں پر املدرامت بھی کرینگے
Congratulations!!! Hope you will do your best for development of Chitral as you have already done a lot for the area!!!!
Many many congratulations and best wishes. Hope you will do your best for betterment of Chitral.
Despite a smear campaign and propaganda by his opponents, the re-election of Salim Khan when the PPP was at the lowest level of its popularity shows that the people of Chitral want to live in harmony and are fully capable of taking decisions with full political maturity.