MANSEHRA: The people of Shinkiari and Baffa have warned the district administration to declare headquarters of the new Baffa-Pakhal tehsil only on merit.

The people of Shinkiari, stated to be the commercial headquarters of Pakhal, had warned the PTI-led government not to declare Baffa as tehsil.

However, addressing a public meeting a few days ago Chief Minister Pervez Khattak declared Baffa-Pakhal a tehsil of Mansehra district, but didn’t mention the name of its headquarters.

Speaking at a press conference in Baffa, president of traders body Shahid Mohammad said that the deputy commissioner should declare Baffa the headquarters of Baffa-Pakhal tehsil.

Aslam Khan Baffa, district councillor of PTI from Baffa union council, told mediapersons that headquarters was the right of the people of his town (Baffa) as the government had given it the status of tehsil on their demand and as a result of long struggle.

Meanwhile, nazims and naib nazims of various village and neighborhood councils of Shinkiari have asked the deputy commissioner, Mansehra, to declare Shinkiari as the tehsil headquarters of Baffa-Pakhal tehsil.

Speaking at a press conference in Shinkiari, the nazims said that Shinkiari was located on the main Karakoram Highway and easily approachable to people of 12 union councils of Konsh and Siren valleys.

They said that as such Shinkiari should be declared tehsil headquarters of the new tehsil.

Led by nazim of Shinkiari neighbourhood council Mohammad Siraj, the nazims said that they didn’t want any sort of confrontation.

“We have also been struggling for a separate tehsil consisting of Siren and Konsh valleys and Shinkiari and if the government included our areas in the new tehsil then it is our right to demand of the government to declare Shinkiari as the headquarters,” said Mr Siraj.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2016