SHANGLA: Residents of Kolai and Batera, Kohistan, have demanded of the government to stop deputy commissioner Kolai Palas Kohistan from sitting in Palas instead of Batera, which they said the previous government had formally declared as district headquarters of the district.

Over 300-member jirga held a protest at Jinah Park of Bisham here on Thursday, which was attended by various tribes of Kolai and Batera.

Ali Gohar Azadkhel, former nazim Ubaidur Rehman, Badar Zaman and others spoke at the jirga.

They said that the previous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had declared Batera as the district headquarters for the convenience of people of all areas of the district.

“The former DC and all staff of the district was earlier sitting temporarily in Bisham while the government had issued notification of Batera as district headquarters, but later Palas area people obtained a stay order against the notification,” said Ali Gohar.

He claimed that the DC was sitting in Palas on the wish of MPA Mufti Ubaidur Rehman, which was not accessible to the people. Badar Zaman said that if the DC was not stopped from sitting in Palas it could lead to a clash between the tribes.

He said the jirga had set a deadline of three days to the government and DC Kolai Palas to return to Bisham. They threatened that in case otherwise they would come onto streets against the DC.

Meanwhile, residents of Shangla blocked the Bisham-Swat road at Alpuri and staged a protest against the police department for ignoring them in recent police recruitment.

The protesters were carrying banners inscribed with slogans against the police department for its injustice.

The speakers Abid Yar, Mohammad Alam and others said that ignoring Shangla candidates in the police recruitment was a clear injustice with people of the district where unemployment was rampant.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018