BUNER: Kashtkaran committee of Malakand division on Sunday decided to stage a sit-in in front of the Chief Minister House in Peshawar against delay in signing of a bill regarding the right of land ownership by the chief minister.

The bill, they said, had been passed by the provincial assembly but still awaiting chief minister’s approval.

They were speaking at a jirga held in Pir Baba area addressed by Kashtkaran committee senior vice-president Gul Rehman, general secretary Khan Zaman of Swat district and others.

The speakers said thousands of peasants had been cultivating crops on lands situated in the hilly areas of Malakand, Hazara and Kohistan for decades. They claimed that they were real owners of the lands, but in revenue record the land was mentioned as the property of the forest department.

The elders regretted that though the provincial assembly had passed the bill the chief minister was reluctant to sign it into a law.

They said to press their demands they had decided to convene a jirga at the district level and stage sit-in in front of Chief Minister House. They said they would hold a five-day-long protest, adding the protest might be extended if their demands were not met.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2018