Daily Times

MOHMAND AGENCY: Peace has been restored in the area due to sacrifices rendered by Mohmand tribesmen. Various new institutions are opening day by day as development works proceed further, Additional Political Agent Mohmand Agency Hamid-Ur-Rahman said, while addressing an open court at Pandiali tehsil building, Lower Mohmand Sub-Division, on Friday.

The participants came from the political administration, besides tribal elders, political and social workers and general public. Addressing on the occasion, tribal elders held that tribesmen of presented sacrifices in war on militancy. They said that peace had been restored and now attention should be diverted to developmental needs as their area was the most backward in the tribal region.

“We don’t have schools, hospitals, roads and special khassadar force units,” said Younis Khan. Among the various problems presented on the occasion was the poor condition of the ‘Chopan to Sarala Road. Tribal elders said the road was only eight-feet in width, and demanded that it should be widened.”

They said expansion of the road should be included in the next Annual Development Program (ADP). They said Pandiali had a population of 70,000 people but its only BHU lacked doctors and basic facilities like laboratory, X-rays, and ambulance service.

They thanked the administration for upgrading high school to higher secondary level and demanded that a degree college should be set up in the area.

The participants further said that Pandiali Small Dam was a good project, adding that there were leakages in the body that should be fixed.

Malik Syed Mehmood Jan complained that power outages affected routine life and people were facing problems in accessing drinking water.

Others complained that some influential locals were using Pandiali dam’s water for irrigation purposes, without administration’s permission.

Mehmood Jan demanded that the matter of Mohmand Dam affectees should be resolved by providing suitable plots in compensation.

Malik Sir Taj Dawezai said there were no basic health and education facilities in his area. Addressing on the occasion, Additional PA Hamid-Ur-Rehman said that peace had been restored in the area due to sacrifices rendered by Mohmand tribesmen and now developmental works were starting in the region. He said expansion of 15-kilometers Chopan to Sarlara Road would be included in the next Annual Development Programme. “We are giving special focus to Safi, Dawezai and Ambar tehsils development because these were militancy-hit areas,” Rehman said.

He assured the tribesmen that staff would be deployed at the Pandiali BHU to facilitate local residents. He directed the departments concerned to constitute a committee to find out the solution of Pandiali small dams issue.

Assistant Political Agent Lower Mohmand Touseef Khalid urged the local tribesmen to constitute a five member’s committee and present a joint demand of developmental schemes so that same may be processed for inclusion in next ADP.

Published in Daily Times, March 31^st 2018.