New administrative div in Malakand sought

TIMERGARA: The members of Dir Qaumi Pasoon (DQP) and local elders on Sunday staged a protest rally and asked the government to establish a new administrative division in Malakand, rename the Swat motorway and initiate work on Chakdarra-Chitral expressway forthwith.

Dozens of Lower Dir residents including social and political activists from various political parties and local elders participated in the protest rally.

DQP acting convener Jehan Alam Yousafzai, acting council members Ali Shah Mashwani, Faridoon Khan, Attaullah Khan, Atta Muhammad, former provincial minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Bakht Baidar, Maulana Nabi Shah, Najeebullah and others spoke on the occasion.

The speakers demanded the government to rename Swat motorway as Malakand motorway, initiate work on Chakdarra to Chitral expressway and establish a new administrative division ‘Dir division’ comprising of Lower Chitral, Upper Chitral, Lower Dir, Upper Dir and Bajaur districts. The speakers said they were not against any other area but the under construction motorway was named as Swat motorway despite the fact that Swat has nothing to do with it as neither Swat was the starting point nor the entry point at the motorway. “University of Malakand (UoM) and BISE Malakand are both located in Lower Dir district, yet they are named as University of Malakand and BISE Malakand,” they noted.

They demanded the government to immediately start work on construction of Chakdarra to Chitral expressway. “Funds have been allocated for Swat expressway in the federal budget but there was no mention of Chakdarra to Chitral expressway in the budget, which was a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. They said earlier the provincial government had totally ignored Lower and Upper Dir districts.