Mardan landowners protest for payment

MARDAN: The landowners staged a protest rally here on Tuesday against the non-payment for the lands the government had acquired from them to set up the Abdul Wali Khan University, Agricultural University and Bacha Khan Medical College.

They set an ultimatum of two months for the payment of arrears and provision of jobs, threatening to stop the teaching activities at the Abdul Wali Khan University in September if their demands were not met.

Later, they addressed a news conference at Mardan Press Club. The land owners of Khora Banda, Plateau, Mayar and Darbu Kali areas along with local leaders Usman Ghani, Naeem Khan Mayar, Hafiz Waqar, Majid Advocate, Shah Hussain Afridi and others said they 2500 kanals of land was acquired from them in 2009 for the construction of the above-mentioned universities. They added that even after 15 years, the promises made to them were yet to be honoured.

They said a very small amount, 66 million, was paid to them so far out of the promised 9 billion.The land owners argued that the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court in 2020 had also issued orders for paying them forthwith but the orders were not complied with, adding the jobs promised to them were not given as well which, they said, was an injustice.