Jirga vows to resist privatisation of hospitals, schools in Takhtbhai

TAKHTBHAI: The elders and participants of a grand jirga on Thursday pledged that privatisation of public sector hospitals and educational institutions would be resisted tooth and nail in Takhtbhai tehsil.

Leaders of all major political parties, including former lawmaker Maulana Muhammad Qasim of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Ghulam Rasool and Nauman Yousaf of Jamaat-e-Islami, Muazzullah Khan Hasanzai of Tehreek-e-Shariat Party, Takhtbhai Tehsil Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, ex-lawmaker Sher Afghan Khan and Ghulam Rasool of Awami National Party, former lawmaker Mian Nadir Shah, former tehsil nazims Muhammad Nawaz Tahir and Javed Iqbal, Shoaib Alam Khattak of Pakistan People’s Party, Dost Muhammad Darwesh of JUI Business Forum Mardan,, Jamal Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Muhammad Yousaf of Chemist and Druggist Association, Wahab Yousafi of Traders Association, media persons and others spoke on the occasion.

They said that it was the foremost duty of the government to provide quality education and healthcare facilities to the people.

They expressed concern that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had failed to meet public expectations. A lack of facilities, staff shortages, and poor policies have left citizens in distress, and now the government is privatising these vital departments.

They warned that privatization would harm the poor and middle classes, saying that Health Advisor Ihtisham Khan hailing from Takhtbhai was expected to provide modern health facilities to locals, but instead, he had focused on privatizing hospitals.

This decision has spread despair among the poor, who are now being deprived of affordable treatment.

At the end, a joint Action Committee was formed, comprising one representative each from political parties, lawyers, journalists, elected VICE chairman, and traders’ associations.