Kalakhel elders warn of boycotting election

BARA: Elders of Kalakhel tribe in Khyber district on Wednesday warned of boycotting the upcoming provincial assembly election for tribal districts.

Talking to reporters here, the elders including Haji Nazruddin, Ghulam Sakhi Afridi, Talib Shah, Said Malang and others said that the tribal people were deprived of basic rights due to parliamentarians’ inaction. They said the members of National Assembly had ignored the Kalakhel tribe for the last 30 years. The elders said the legislators never visited the area after the election and did not raise the issues in the assembly. “During the election campaign, all parties’ candidates visit the area and make promises with people,” said one of the elders, adding the elected member and others never ask about the people’s problems once they are elected. They said the government had no focus on the development projects, including education, health and roads. “We are disappointed with the parliamentarians elected by the Kalakhel tribe,” Ghulam Sakhi told reporters. He added that their land had been barren due to either absence of tube- wells or lack of electricity. He said people had been compelled to move to other areas. The elder said they defended the area against the militants and had a role in the restoration of peace. He criticised the former and present MNAs and accused them of ignoring the Kalakhel tribe in every field and did not announce uplift schemes.