via Dawn newspaper : PESHAWAR, Aug 10: The residents of Chitral have threatened to launch agitation against government for its failure to allocate funds for completion of Lowari tunnel.
“We will start a protest movement after Eidul Fitr as government is reluctant to allocate the required funds for the project,” former MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali told a press conference here on Wednesday.
The Mualana, who is also convener of Tahafuz Haqooq-i-Chitral Movement, said that the construction company concerned stopped work on Lowari tunnel as government didn’t pay its dues.
The pipeline installed at a cost of Rs250 million to supply oxygen to the tunnel had also been taken away by the company owing to non-payment of its dues, he added.
Accompanied by several elders of the area, he said that lawmakers of Chitral failed to restart work on the tunnel. The stoppage of work on the tunnel had created unrest among the people of the district, he said.
Maulna Chitrali said that Provincial Minister for Population Welfare Saleem Khan could not convince Federal Minister for Communication Dr Arbab Alamgir to help restart work on the tunnel despite the fact that both the ministers belonged to
Pakistan People’s Party.
“Only tall claims are not solution to the problems of people,” he added. He alleged that elected representatives of Chitral were trying to deceive people by making hollow promises without doing anything practical for development of the area.
“They (Chitral’s lawmakers) are national traitors and deserve exemplary punishment for ignoring their constituents,” he said.
The former lawmaker said that elected representatives of Chitral should tender resignation in protest as they could not do anything good for the welfare and development of the district.
Giving details of their proposed protest, he said that that they would close all government departments and block the main Dir-Chitral Road to all kinds of vehicular traffic.
He said that they would march on Islamabad to raise the issue at national and international levels. He also criticised Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti for what he said avoiding taking up the issue with the federal government.
The chief minister had promised to support Chitralis and raise voice for allocating the required funds for the completion of the
project but he didn’t fulfil his promise, he said.
“We will start a protest movement after Eidul Fitr as government is reluctant to allocate the required funds for the project,” former MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali told a press conference here on Wednesday.
The Mualana, who is also convener of Tahafuz Haqooq-i-Chitral Movement, said that the construction company concerned stopped work on Lowari tunnel as government didn’t pay its dues.
The pipeline installed at a cost of Rs250 million to supply oxygen to the tunnel had also been taken away by the company owing to non-payment of its dues, he added.
Accompanied by several elders of the area, he said that lawmakers of Chitral failed to restart work on the tunnel. The stoppage of work on the tunnel had created unrest among the people of the district, he said.
Maulna Chitrali said that Provincial Minister for Population Welfare Saleem Khan could not convince Federal Minister for Communication Dr Arbab Alamgir to help restart work on the tunnel despite the fact that both the ministers belonged to
Pakistan People’s Party.
“Only tall claims are not solution to the problems of people,” he added. He alleged that elected representatives of Chitral were trying to deceive people by making hollow promises without doing anything practical for development of the area.
“They (Chitral’s lawmakers) are national traitors and deserve exemplary punishment for ignoring their constituents,” he said.
The former lawmaker said that elected representatives of Chitral should tender resignation in protest as they could not do anything good for the welfare and development of the district.
Giving details of their proposed protest, he said that that they would close all government departments and block the main Dir-Chitral Road to all kinds of vehicular traffic.
He said that they would march on Islamabad to raise the issue at national and international levels. He also criticised Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti for what he said avoiding taking up the issue with the federal government.
The chief minister had promised to support Chitralis and raise voice for allocating the required funds for the completion of the
project but he didn’t fulfil his promise, he said.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/11/chitralis-to-launch-drive-for-lowari-tunnel.html