April 17, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428

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PESHAWAR, April 16: People of Chitral living in Peshawar on Monday took out a procession to protest against what they called the apathy of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government towards the sufferings of rain-affected people in their mountainous district.

The procession started from the Qissakhwani Bazaar and ended in front of the Peshawar Press Club. Chitral Youth Organisation president Sadiq Amin and Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Abdul Latif, who led the procession, criticised the federal and provincial governments for their ‘lukewarm’ attitude towards the demands of the rain-affected population in Chitral villages. Two weeks have passed, but neither the prime minister nor the chief minister has visited the area where more than 70 people died because of avalanches and landslides, they regretted.

They said the government had yet not provided any sort of assistance to the people, who were in dire need of medicines and food. They said that while the Punjab government had released Rs24 billion for the construction of a new road in the province, no money was released for Chitral where rains had washed away 400 kilometers of roads. They said a federal minister had visited Chitral district, but he returned after a photo session there at a function. “The NWFP chief minister does not see anything beyond Bannu.”

They said that if this apathy continued the Chitrali people might boycott the coming general elections. They called upon the federal and NWFP governments to immediately announce a relief package for the rain affected people and pay compensation to the bereaved families.