Owners seek land payments

BATKHELA: The affectees of the Swat Motorway on Saturday staged a protest against the non-payment of compensation for their land acquired for the project.

The Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) had organized the protest in Aladhand Dheri. Divisional Vice-Chairman QWP Muhammad Ibrar Yousafzai, its nominated candidate for NA-35 Zafaryab Khan, tehsil nazim Gul Nawaz and others led the protest. The speakers said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had acquired their farm land for construction of the Swat Motorway in August 2016 on a throw away price but lamented that not a single penny was paid to the affected farmers whose land was acquired for the project. They said that payments were even not made to those whose houses and other properties fall in the way of the motorway. They termed the non-payment of the money to the owners unjust and demanded the government to pay them price of their land. They also rejected the Chakdarra Interchange name and demanded it should be replaced with Aladhand Dheri as the interchange was being constructed there. They threatened to launch a protest campaign if their demands were not met.