Sher Afgan
BOONI: Representatives of different political parties and civil society at a meeting in Booni warned government employees and some political elements in Lower Chitral against trying to create misunderstanding and differences among the people of the two districts.
They said vested interest groups and some government employees in Lower Chitral had been issuing warnings to the government to send all public servants hailing from Upper Chitral and working in the Chitral town back to their own district.
The participants of the meeting also called upon the KP government and the district administration of Lower Chitral to initiate action against government employees who had been attending political meetings and openly making hateful speeches and issuing warnings in violation of the employment rules and regulations.
The speakers said some elements with their vested interest had been trying to present Lower and Upper Chitral as two districts of different peoples. They said people of Lower Chitral had never ever in the past promoted such feelings aimed at dividing the people of Chitral.
The divisive feelings are always promoted by those who are neither natives of Upper nor Lower Chitral, they added.
The government employees from Lower and Upper Chitral can be posted to anywhere in the two districts or even outside Chitral. It is for the government to transfer and post its employees without any interference from any politician or an employee, the speakers said.
The meeting was convened by Tehreek Huqooq-e-Awam (THA) in the wake of persistent demand by government employees and some political activists in Lower Chitral from different forums to send back all employees belonging to Upper Chitral to their home district.
PPP Upper Chitral president Amir Ullah chaired the meeting while JUI district chief Molana Abdul Bari was the chief guest.
Those who spoke on the occasion were Prince Sultan of the PML-N, Pervez Lal, Amir Ullah, Hameed Jalal of the PPP, JI district chief Molana Javed Hussain, Fazlur Rehman of ANP, Babar Ali of the PTI, Molana Fatehul Bari of JUI, Mukhtar Ahmed Lal of Tehreek Huqooq-e-Awam and Rehmat Salam and others.