Bara stone crushing plants reopening sought

BARA: Elders of Shalobar tribe of the Bara tehsil in the Khyber tribal district have asked the government to order the reopening of the stone crushing machines that have been closed for the last several years.

Speaking at a press conference here, the Crushing Plants Association, Bara, President, Ibrahim Afridi, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Abdul Ghani Afridi, Pakistan Muslim League (N) Khyber president Asghar Khan Afridi and elders of Shalobar tribe said that they had decided to restore the crushing plants on self-help basis recently but the government did not allow them to do so.

They said they also held meetings with security officials for restoration of the crushing plants.

The tribal elders said they had obtained lease of Besai Baba mountain from the government before the launch of military operation in Bara.

They added they had paid millions of rupees in the head of electricity bills and taxes but still had been deprived of their right to make the crushing plants functional.

The elders claimed that the tribal people had already suffered due to militancy but the government did not provide them basic rights.

They said around 10,000 poor people, who had been working in the crushing plants, were now living a miserable life.

The Shalobar elders asked the government to hold negations with them on the issue within eight days, or else they would launch a protest drive.

The elders alleged that their property was being confiscated under the garb of reforms in the tribal districts which they termed illegal and unconstitutional.

They warned that responsibility of any untoward consequences of the issue would rest with the local administration and provincial government.