‘Robbery’ on rights of Yarkhun won’t be tolerated: PTI activist

CHITRAL: People of Yarkhun, Mastuj and Laspur gave mandate to the PTI in the 2018 elections but now the provincial government and the Chitral chapter of the ruling party are not only ignoring these areas but also making broad daylight robberies on their rights.

Talking to ChitralToday, diehard PTI activist Rehmat Noor of Patrangaz said people of Upper Chitral cast votes in favour of the PTI only because they considered Imran Khan a true national leader. They were hopeful that Imran Khan would bring a change in the governance system to ensure poor people’s rights and eliminate corruption.

“Though the PTI remained in power for five years from 2013 to 29018 in KP province, it had no absolute majority in the assembly and had to form a coalition government. Besides, the party lacked experience and could not meet all the promises made with the voters. But now we have an absolute majority in KP assembly and have our own government. Besides, the PTI is also in power in the centre. Now the ruling party should not have any excuse and its workers and supporters expect it to deliver on promises made with the people.”

But what the PTI did in the recent appointment of low-grade employees in the health department of Chitral showed that some people in the government as well as in the party rank are out to sabotage the vision of Imran Khan.

He said low grade jobs in civil dispensaries and BHUs in the three UCs were given to people from Lower Chitral as though there was not a single local person suitable for the jobs. On the other hand, no one from Upper Chitral was given any job in Lower Chitral.

Mr Noor said the health department had set up a civil dispensary on a piece of land belonging to a man in Istach, promising him that all Class IV jobs would be given to his family in return for the land. The landowner died a few years ago and now the PTI government has inducted Mir Wali from Barenis as watchman in the dispensary.

Similarly, low grade posts in other dispensaries have been filled by people from Lower Chitral.

Asifur Rehman from Zhang Bazaar Chitral town has been appointed as watchman at the BHU Brep, Ijaz Ahmed from Drosh posted as sweeper in the dispensary of Yarkhun Lasht and  Saifuddin from Kari Lower Chitral as sweeper at the dispensary in Gasht (Laspur).

The PTI activist said the issue had been raised at a number of forums and  expressed the hope that the chief minister and the minister for health would take notice of the glaring injustice done with the youth of Upper Chitral and cancel the inductions.

He warned that if the provincial government did not cancel the appointments, the activists of the PTI from Yarkhun and other areas would hold protest demonstrations and even a hunger strike in Islamabad to bring the issue in the notice of Prime Minister Imran Khan.