“I left my native Lakki Marwat after my matriculation exams in 1977. I worked many jobs, but could not hold on to one. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, I did hard labour including construction work, loading and unloading cargo, driving a tractor trolly and a truck, and even road construction. In short, I have worked very hard to support my family, especially after I got married in 1988.

I have six children - three sons and three daughters. My eldest son just completed his BSc and my youngest is in class four. My family lives in Lakki Marwat, where there are no facilities for educating girls.

My eldest son tried finding a job, but could not find anything, not even a post in the Frontier Corps. Once, he almost got a job in the Airport Security Force. He cleared the written and physical test and after the interview, he was told that he had impressed the interviewers and to wait for a call. Its been two years since and there has been no reply from them.

We asked the head office in Karachi and were told that the job was given to someone who had references. My son is over age now and cannot apply again. I want to ask the government and our leaders why the poor do not get anything on merit, why are we second class citizens and why can we not exercise our rights as the citizens of this country.”

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2016