SWABI: Speakers at a function here on Sunday demanded of the federal government to end its ‘unfair treatment’ of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and give the province right over its resources to help end economic backwardness of the people.

Organised by Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek (PUT), the function was attended by intellectuals, members of Islahi Jirga and welfare bodies, local government representatives and leaders of political parties.

On the occasion, the PUT leaders declared that they planned to organise the youth, intellectuals, writers and leaders of political parties to fight for the Pakhtuns’ rights from a single platform.

The speakers noted that Pakhtuns had been deprived of due rights under a well-planned strategy, and urged the Pakhtun leaders to shun their differences and work with devotion for people’s welfare.

They noted that KP produced 6,500 megawatt of electricity, but it remained in darkness, especially in summer, due to excessive power loadshedding.

They said Tarbela and Ghazi Barotha dams, which were considered the power lifeline of the country, were also located in the province, adding quality tobacco was cultivated in the province but the federal government was not giving it the crop status.

Dr Said Alam Masood, central chief of PUT, accused the federal government of giving free hand to the multinational and national companies to exploit the tobacco growers.

He demanded the federal commerce ministry relinquish its control over the crop and hand it over to the provincial government.

SOCIAL BOYCOTT OF MAN: A jirga unanimously announced here the other day social boycott of a Maina village resident for hiring two contract killers to take the life of his sister-in-law and her only son.

The district police produced villager Munsif Khan and killers Zahoor Khan and Tayyab Zaman during a news conference, where they all confessed to their crime.

Zahoor and Tayyab, both residents of Pabbini village, confessed that they had killed Saleema Banat and her son, Zeeshan Khan, after being paid by Munsif Khan, and threw the bodies on Swabi-Mardan Road.

The jirga members said they and other local residents would socially boycott Munsif and his family.

They said they had decided to build a mosque and seminary on the 15-20 kanals of land owned by the deceased’s family.

Meanwhile, Swabi DSP Zahir Shah told reporters that the police after registering a case of the murders waited for the end of three days mourning to interrogate Munsif.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2017