PPP activists stage protest

GHALLANAI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) activists on Friday staged a protest here against the problems being faced by the people of Mohmand tribal district.

Led by president PPP Mohmand, Malik Israel Khan, general secretary Shah Sawar Khan, Arshad Bakhtiar, Malik Jangrez and Tahir Akbar Momand, the protesters marched in Ghallanai Bazaar and blocked the Peshawar-Bajaur Highway for half an hour.

Speaking on the occasion, Arshad Bakhtiar said that the promises made at the time of Fata’s merger were yet to be fulfilled, adding unscheduled loadshedding was the biggest problem. He termed the closure of Gorsal trade route with Afghanistan as economic murder of the people.

He said that the recruitment of non-locals should be banned as it was tantamount to usurping the rights of jobless youth of Mohmand district.

He added that the Mineral Department had increased the marble royalty tax from Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,000 which was a conspiracy to make these poor people unemployed. Malik Israel Khan said that mines, transport and factories had been closed for 15 days and thousands of people had become jobless.

Malik Jangriz said that the country had been made a hotbed of problems due to the flawed policies of the selected government.

He also urged the government to provide protection to the local journalists.