Hundreds start march towards Afghanistan in protest
Photo: Radio TNN[/caption]
The families have taken the decision in protest against the district administration for not paying them cash compensation for their damaged houses.
Launching their march, the participants were chanting slogans against the administration for keeping them on hollow promises for the last over six months.
However, when they reached Mirkhani, the Chitral Scouts stopped them from proceeding towards Arandu. As a result, they staged a protest sit-in there.
After failing to get compensation for their damaged houses in the Oct 26, 2015 earthquake, about 450 families on Tuesday announced their decision to migrate to Afghanistan in protest against the district administration of Chitral.
Talking to the local reporters at their hunger strike camp here, the representatives of the quake-affected families, including former UC nazim Abdul Bari, Haji Muhtaram Shah, Qari Nizam Uddin, Hassan Muhammad and Salahuddin Toofan said that the 450 families would leave the area on Wednesday morning and start a march towards the Arandu valley on the border of Afghanistan.
They said that the families had started their protest four months ago and ended it on January 20 on the assurance of Deputy Commissioner Osama Ahmad Waraich that a fresh survey of the damaged houses would be carried out to pay compensation to the owners and that the files would not be closed till all the affected people were paid the cheques.
However, they regretted that the affected people were still not paid the compensation even two months after the fresh survey was done by additional assistant commissioner Basharat Hussain.
They said that due to the callous attitude of the administration, the quake-hit people were again compelled to start the protest and it was fourth day of their hunger strike but without any result.
They said that after losing all hopes to get justice, they have taken the decision to migrate to Afghanistan.—Bashir Hussain Azad]]>
I agree with Dr Khalil these people who are staging a drama of migrating to Afghanistan are outsiders who had recently settled in areas like Drosh. It could be hardly their second generation in Chitral. They came here and later purchased lands and got settled here. In other words these people are called “settlers”, who have a long history of exploiting innocent Chitralis for their own vested interests. It is a complete failure of the local admin. If I were the DC I would have thrown them into Afghanistan one by one and build some schools and colleges at the lands they had purchased here. The protest against Chitral Scouts was also initiated by these people. And after failing to stage a drama when their shops were sealed, they are staging these kind cheap tactics to blackmail the people of Chitral. We will snatch our right because we are not traitors but will never migrate to other country as Pakistan does not belong to forefathers of Nawaz Sharif. It is our country and we will die here.
The people of Drosh are not aboriginal Chitralies with exception of few, most of them are street hawkers settled in there. If they want to migrate to Afghanistan, or to any other place across Lawari, it is not surprising, as they will be returning to homeland of their ancestors. I will request Shehla Hakim to give her valuable comment regarding the situation.