June 6, 2005	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

CHITRAL, Jun 5: Speakers at a protest rally here warned of dire consequences if a teacher training institute was established in Chitral by the Aga Khan University. Organized by the Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA), the rally was addressed by district president of MMA Maulana Saeedullah, District Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Maulana Sher Aziz, district secretary of MMA Maulana Israruddin Al-Hilal, Haji Maghfirat Shah, Qazi Naseem, Mohammad Hassan and others.

They said there was absolutely no need of any institution for teachers in Chitral but the AKU plan to set up “Professional Development Centre” here was “a conspiracy” to destroy the peaceful and congenial atmosphere of the district.

They said that the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) had caused lopsided development in the district which had resulted in sectarian disharmony. They said that the AKDN had concentrated on the Ismaili-majority areas with the result that the Sunnis, constituting 80 per cent of the population, had lagged behind in all walks of life.

They said that donor agencies had been funding the AKDN for the entire population of Chitral but the network was diverting the money to the Ismaili-majority areas, an act creating heartburning in the Sunni community.

They said they were not opposed to foreigners’ donations but to activities directed towards a certain community at the exclusion of others.

They said that the AKDN was a potential source of threat to the peace in Chitral.

The speakers demanded that the government implement the recommendations of Justice Tariq Pervaiz Baloch, who headed an inquiry tribunal set up in connection with the murder of JUI leader Maulana Ubaidullah Chitrali in 1999. The judge had proposed drastic reforms in the AKDN to make it acceptable to the whole population of Chitral “which will ensure peace and sectarian harmony in the district”.

Prior to the rally, a procession was taken out from Dawashish which turned into a rally at the old Chowni Bridge.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)