Centre, KP govt’s apathy towards Chitral lambasted

PPP leaders claim people mulling shifting to Afghanistan

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday urged the federal and provincial governments to help the people affected by floods and earthquakes in Chitral district as the shelterless dwellers of the strategically important valley have threatened to migrate to Afghanistan.

PPP Senator Robina Khalid and MPA from Chitral Saleem Khan told a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club that the shelterless people had announced to migrate to Afghanistan due to the apathy of the rulers.  They observed that since floods and rain had destroyed entire infrastructure including roads, bridges and buildings in Chitral, the people waited for the government’s assistance after the announcements and visits of the prime minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to the affected areas.

Fed up with government’s assurances, the PPP leaders deplored that the shelterless people have been staging protests for the last three days. The disappointed people, he said, also tried to move to Afghanistan but the security forces at Mirkhani checkpost did not allow them to proceed further.

Senator Robina said that her party’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had taken notice of the situation and directed her to assist the people on behalf of the Sindh government. “We have been looking after Afghan refugees for decades but cannot serve our own people,” she said, adding: “Mere changing names will not serve the purpose. We will fix our priorities and practically help our people.”

Recalling sacrifices of Chitrali people, the PPP senator said both the federal and provincial governments should immediately solve their problems and mitigate their sufferings.

She also asked media to highlight miseries of the affectees and guide rulers to solve their problems. She said rehabilitation and reconstruction of affected people were more important than construction of roads and provision of laptops to students in developed areas.

Senator Robina, who had also visited the affected areas, said the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Shah, had presented his report regarding Chitral but the prime minister did not take any action so far. She said that her party would not leave the affected people alone in this difficult time.

Saleem Khan appreciated Sindh government for sending three electricity generators for people of Chitral. He said that affecteesin Drosh and Booniareas were protesting for the last three months. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had announced packages during their visits to Chitral but nothing practical was done for the helpless people. He said the affectees had neither received compensations for their damages, nor any other package, while their agricultural loans had also not been written off so far.