Senators promise to take up Chitral’s issues with govt
CHITRAL: Members of Senate standing committee on less developed areas headed by Senator Usman Kakar and comprising Sardar Azam Khan Musakhel and Momin Khan on Friday reached Chitral and attended a briefing at the DC office.
Deputy Commissioner Khurshid Alam Mahsud and district nazim Maghfirat Shah briefed the senator about the issues being faced by the people of Chitral.
MPA Moulana Hidayatur Rehman was also present.
After the briefing, Senator Kakar regretted that despite being havens of natural resources, remote areas of the country were still facing rampant poverty where the people had no easy access to drinking water and other basic necessities of life.
The senator said for the last 71 years developed areas of the country continued their discrimination against the backward areas. He said time had come to create awareness in backward areas so that the people could stand up to fight and snatch their rights.
Senator Kakar said there was also a need to change the weird criterion of the National Finance Commission (NFC) award under which resources were distributed among provinces on the basis of population. He said funds should be allocated to provinces as well as districts on the basis of the backwardness of the areas.
The senators also expressed their surprise why the Lowari Tunnel was still being kept closed for 12 hours a day even though the project had almost been completed.
The senators said the issues of Chitral that related to the federal government would be taken up with the federal government in Islamabad while the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be approached for the resolution of the issues related to the provincial government. –Nazir Hussain Shah