Chitralis threaten to launch movement against abolition of PA seat

PESHAWAR: The leaders of all political parties, representatives of civil society and traders from Chitral on Tuesday threatened to launch a protest campaign and boycott the upcoming general election against the abolition of provincial assembly’s seat for the district.

The decision came at a meeting, which was organised by Chitral Community Development Network at Shahi Mehmankhana here.

Member National Assembly Shahzada Iftikharuddin, MPAs Salim Khan, Fauzia Bibi, Sardar Hussain, district Nazim Maghfirat Shah, CCDN convener Sartaj Ahmed Khan, PTI leader Rahmat Ghazi, Mohibullah Advocate Barrister Assadul Mulk, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah and others were present on the occasion.

The participants rejected the census, saying that thousands of Chitralis were living in other districts. They said that depriving Chitral of a seat on the basis of population was an injustice with the area-wise largest district of the province. “It is very difficult to run the administrative affairs of the district. And this decision will further make the situation complicated,” Said MNA Shahzada Iftikharuddin.

The participants of the meeting rejected the inclusion of some residents of Upper Dir in Chitral as a joke. “How can people of one district become the part of another district,” said one of the participants, adding, over 4 million Chitralis were working out of the district to earn their livelihood.

The participants threatened to boycott the next general election if the seat was not restored. A panel of lawyers had also been constituted to file a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.