GHALANAI: The villages straddling Pak-Afghan border in Khwezai tehsil of Mohmand Agency have been deprived of health and education facilities, the tribesmen complained.

“We have no electricity, no health centre and no school here,” Mukhtiar, a resident of Kung village, told reporters. He said rich people had bought solar panels to have their houses electrified, but the poor could not afford it.

He said in 2004 electricity poles were installed in Kung village, but they were later taken away by members of former peace committees in 2012. He deplored that the authorities did not take notice of the issue.

Ali Gul, another resident, complained that they were facing acute shortage of drinking water, adding the village was frequently hit by floods, which not only killed their dear ones but also destroyed cattle and land.

“Due to no electricity, the poor villagers have to buy firewood from the bazaar to keep them warm during the winter” said Gul.

The local residents lamented that the parliamentarians did not pay a single visit to the area to know about the problems facing the tribesmen, saying the lawmakers visited the tehsil when they needed votes.

The villagers said in this modern era they had yet to see electricity in their homes.

They said that there was a government primary school for boys and girls, adding after passing the primary classes most students quit education due to absence of high school. They pointed out that the existing schools lacked facilities like drinking water, bathrooms, boundary walls and even furniture for the staff.

The people said government primary school for boys in Jalal Kor had been blown up twice during militancy, which was reconstructed by tribesmen on self-help basis. But the government failed to expand the one-room school, they regretted.

The tribesmen demanded of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor and the Mohmand Agency political agent to resolve the problems of the area.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2017