Kolai-Palas district headquarters: Tribesmen defer protest after admin assurance

MANSEHRA: The tribesmen of Kolai postponed the protest to block Karakoram Highway (KKH) after the district administration of Lower Kohistan sought time to take up their demands with the provincial government.

A large number of tribesmen had assembled in Pattan to block Karakoram Highway to press the government to declare Kolai as headquarters of the newly notified Kolai-Palas district. The protesters also threatened to block KKH for an indefinite period if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government declared Palas as district headquarters of Kolai-Palas district.

Malik Sherbaz Khan, an elder who was leading protesters also sought help from Islah-i-Committee of people of Pattan, saying that former Member Provincial Assembly Maulana Asmatullah was endangering peace in the newly notified Kolai-Palas district.

Deputy Commissioner of Lower Kohistan Khuda Bakhsh and other officials talked with elders of Kolai and persuaded them to postpone their planned blockade of KKH as they would take their demands to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

“We want a peaceful settlement of district headquarters issue and you should cooperate with us as we would dispatch your demands to government within a couple of hours,” Khuda Bakhsh assured the elders. The elders announced to postpone blockade of KKH for a couple of days.