MANSEHRA: The people of Pales in Lower Kohistan district have announced they will stage protests against Kohistan’s bifurcation and move the Supreme Court for the review of its decision to uphold the chief minister’s notification in this respect.

“Not only will we file a review petition with the Supreme Court against its decision to uphold the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s notification to divide Kohistan into two districts but we’ll also not allow the laying of main power transmission line from Pales to other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” MPA Maulana Asmatullah told a jirga of Pales people in Shergaziabad area of their tehsil on Monday.

The jirga, which was held with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl MPA Maulana Asmatullah in the chair, reviewed the Supreme Court’s Jan 16 verdict on Kohistan’s bifurcation.

Maulana Asmatullah said the jirga would file review petition with the Supreme Court on the matter.

“We are in contact with our lawyers for finalising the draft review petition. As the petition is ready, we’ll file it with the apex court,” he said.

Also announce protests against govt over division notification

The MPA announced that the people of Pales won’t allow the Wapda to lay the main power transmission line for electric supply from Dubair Khawar hydropower project to Pales and Dasu.

He said the people of Pales would also stage a sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar against Kohistan’s bifurcation.

“We will continue the social boycott of the people of Pattan,” he said.

Mr. Asmatullah said Pales was the biggest tehsil with 13 union councils but ironically, the chief minister gave Pattan the status of the district headquarters.

Also in the day, parliamentary secretary of industries in the National Assembly Sarzameen Khan told reporters that if the people of Pales wanted to move the Supreme Court for the review of its verdict on Kohistan’s bifurcation, it was their right but the people of Pattan won’t allow anyone to sabotage the main power transmission line.

“If anybody sabotages the laying of the main power transmission line, the law will take its course as I have spoken to the commissioner of Hazara division on this highly important issue,” he said.

Last week, a jirga of the people of Pattan tehsil welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict on Kohistan’s bifurcation and announced an end to the social boycott of the people of Kohistan.

On Jan 2016, a full-member bench of the Peshawar High Court had nullified the notification of Kohistan’s bifurcation issued by the CM. Thereafter, the people of Pattan led by Abdul Haq challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, which upheld the notification earlier this week.

FUNDS DIVERSION TO BE CHALLENGED: The ANP Torghar chapter has announced it will move the court of law against the diversion of development funds from the district to other parts of province.

“Ex-Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti had sanctioned a development package of Rs4 billion for Torghar but the PTI government diverted those funds to his native Nowshera district and other parts of province. We are going to challenge it in the court of law,” ANP district president Shahzad Shah told reporters here on Monday.

Published in Dawn January 24th, 2017