KARAK: Loya Jirga, a forum of lawmakers from Kohat division, decided to launch a protest movement from June 15 by suspending the supply of gas and crude oil from Kohat division.
The Jirga also alleged that both the oil and gas exploration companies including Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and foreign company MOL working in Kohat division have turned into exploitative groups.
This Jirga met on Thursday at the residence of former MNA Shamsur Rehman Khattak in Makori area of the district. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Jirga MPA Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel, MPA Malik Zafar Azam, MPA Shah Dad Khan, former MNA Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz, former district nazims of Kohat and Karak Maulana Niaz Muhammad and Rehmat Salam Khattak and other elders of Kohat division.
The meeting decided not to negotiate with the oil and gas companies any further. The speakers said that the pandemic of Covid-19 continued in the world in Kohat division, the two companies badly exploited the rights of the local people. The lawmakers recalled that at a meeting on January 15, Finance Minister Taimor Saleem Jhagra had accepted a charter of demands of the local lawmakers but after lapse of about five months, not a single demand materialised.