Admin, jirga agree to suspend uplift work

Shamozai feeder issue

CHAKDARRA: The district administration and grand jirga on Thursday agreed to suspend the uplift work on the Shamozai (Swat) feeder to Monday.

The decision was taken during a meeting of officials of local administration and members of the grand jirga held here.  The meeting agreed that the issue would be resolved in the light of the meeting of the jirga members with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

Earlier, the members of the grand jirga and residents staged a protest against the administration for registering cases against the leaders.The cases were registered against the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) MPA Bakht Baidar, Awami National Party district president Hussain Shah, Khursheed Ali Khan, district naib nazim Abdul Rasheed, members Talash Islahi Jirga Irahim Khan, Taj Muhammad and others.

The speakers threatened to besiege the office of the deputy commissioner Lower Dir if the district administration didn’t change its attitude and quash the cases against protesters and their leaders.

They vowed not to allow the officials of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) to resume construction work on the new feeder until their reservations were addressed. They also warned the Malakand and Lower Dir district administrations not to become party to the issue.