Expressway project: agitation planned in Dir, Bajaur and Chitral
LOWER DIR: The opposition parties and civil society activists from Lower and Upper Dir, Chitral and Bajaur districts have announced to launch an agitation campaign to resist the government plan to drop the Chakdara-Chitral Expressway project.
The issue has gained significance since the government allocated funds for the Chakdara-Swat Motorway in the current year’s PSDP.
The opposition parties and social activists, including lawyers and traders, are not satisfied with the announcements made by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and federal minister for communications Murad Saeed that work on widening and improvement of Chakdara-Chitral Road would be started from March next year.
Social and political activists, especially the youth belonging to different parties including the ruling PTI, have taken to social media platforms, calling for the government not to shelve the key project.
“We are not against construction of the Swat motorway but not at the cost of the Chakdara-Chitral Expressway,” JI parliamentary leader in the KP Assembly Inayatullah had told a presser in Timergara some days ago.
He said the people of Dir, Chitral and Bajaur were demanding equal opportunities of development.
Similarly, lawyers and traders have also warned the government of protests if steps were not taken by the federal and the provincial governments regarding resolution of public grievances on the issue.
Speakers at a meeting of the legal fraternity held recently here noted that the road project was included in the 2017-18 PSDP, but the incumbent government later shelved it.
They said construction of the road would connect the country to the central Asian states, besides boosting tourism in the poverty-stricken districts of Malakand division.
The traders’ community has warned the federal government against dropping the project.
President Anjuman-i-Tajaran Timergara Haji Anwaruddin, general secretary Liaq Zada, Haji Abdul Rashid and others said former prime minister Nawaz Sahrif, during a visit to Upper Dir, had announced to include the Chakdara-Chitral Expressway in CPEC.
The peaceful protest and rising their rightful demands with in different forms is the only solution against the barbaric decision of PTI’S NAAHIL government.Chichdara – Chitral Expressway indeed is a CPEC project approved by then PM Nawaz Sharif and his government and PTI Chairman and the racist CM of KPK Mehmood Khan is diverted this vary important funds toward his native town Sawat.Dir, Chitral and other effected areas people must come togather regardless of their political affiliations put it their voices together and press their demands until this cruel decision not take back.IK’s PTI playing vary negative politics toward the prosperity of the people of areas of farflong and backward. PTI’S federal ‘s government also creates a huge hatred issue making Shandur controversial showing GB side in mape . Shandur is an ancestral property of Upper Chitral and all documents and witnesses are available from the time of before Partition( i mean British rules) so its vary rare also surprising and their is no logic of this stupid conflict created by IK and CO.We understand this from the bottom,cause in GB there is elections going on and PTI Chairman wants to win this election through illegal way and with kickbacks of Shandur to GB.we also request the GB brothers and sisters and all school of thoughts please don’t care and listen this guy as we have centuries longer brotherly relations between Chitral and GB and we are culturally ,socially and religiously vary closed ties with each other.but unfortunately PTI’S government playing a vary dengserios game in this regard.