Five protesters sent to DI Khan jail
CHITRAL: The district government of Lower Chitral has arrested five people under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance for staging a protest against prolonged power outages in Koghuzi and sent them to the district jail of Dera Ismail Khan.
People of Koh have been protesting against unavailability of electricity even after the operatioanlization of the 108 megawatt Golen Gol power station in their area. But misusing its authority, the administration registered a case against scores of them accusing them of blocking the road and not allowing even vehicles carrying patients to move to their destinations.
It has also been learnt that more arrests were expected as 11 other locals have been boooked in the case.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chitral leader Akhonzada Rehmatullah condemned the arrests and said for over a year the locals had been demanding supply of electricity to the Koh area but the government instead of fulfilling the basic need of the citizens was misusing its powers and sending people behind bars.
He said holding peaceful protests and processions was the basic right of citizens and framing and arresting them under a draconian law was illegal and unconstitutional. He also asked the district administration to release the arrested people and ensure supply of electricity to the local people.
Blocking roads and creating nuisance for the travellers is a condemnable act and should be discouraged. But the government has become so thick skinned that peaceful demands and protest for rights do not have any effect on it. Earlier a hunger strike was the ultimate protest by the aggreived and government would get alarmed about it but now even a hunger strike is given no importance. Only extreme measures by the aggrieved like the above move the government now and then the govt reacts in an extreme manner. Rationality is on the backfoot and extremism on the rise- in every sphere.
First of all we strongly condemn the arrest of general public for a very nominal issue , CHITRAL Administration should negotiate and solve their problems as per law and regulations. Secondly Mr Akondzada sahib remember blocking the general public roads and government properties are not any one’s basic right and its not peaceful protest . Blocks the roads and stops general transportation is a violence not peaceful protest. WHO TOLD YOU AND WHERE YOU LEARNT THIS KIND OF PEACEFUL PROTEST???
The district administration has done the very right thing in this case. The way these protestors pelted pedestrians and stopped from taking a dead boy to the upper chitral, that was against legal and ethnical norms
Log koi shooq sa ya kam nahiu krtay, majboor hokar karna parta hy aor tary jaisay logon ko apny haqooq k liay awaz baland krnay ki rah may rokawat bantay hain kal teri bari bi ani hy.