Chitral elders want Kalash Development Authority abolished

CHITRAL: The elders of Kalash and Muslim communities in Bamburet, Rambur and Birir on Monday asked the government to abolish the Kalash Development Authority (KDA) for its failure to carry out a single uplift project in the three valleys.

Speaking at a press conference at the Chitral Press Club, the elders, including Saifullah Kalash, Noor Shah Ali, Sarawat Shah, Malik Shahi, ex-nazim Khurshid Ahmad, Dordan Khan advocate, Muhammad Rafi and others said that people of Kalash and Muslim communities were living in extremely deplorable condition in the three valleys.

They said that the KDA had imposed various taxes but was doing nothing for the welfare of the people. The elders said that it was an injustice to the local poor people to collect taxes from them on one pretext or the other, but provide them no facilities.

To a question, they said that the authority had not carried out a single developmental project in the valleys in the past three years. They added that it was now going to impose more taxes and fines.“It has already collected hundreds of thousands of rupees in taxes from tourists, but there is no transparency regarding how or where that money was spent,” an elder complained.