LOWER DIR: Awami National Party central spokesman Zahid Khan has said law and order situation is worsening in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the government is unmoved.

Talking to Dawn on phone here on Monday, he said the mountains of Dir, Swat, Buner and Shangla were again filled with extremists to carry out sabotage acts.

The ANP leader alleged that the ruling party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa supported the Taliban.

He claimed that in hilly areas of Dir and other districts, people were receiving calls for extortion from elements hiding in the mountains. “When PTI MPA Malik Liaquat refused to pay extortion, he was attacked,” the former ANP senator said.

“The PTI leadership has forgotten the people in its struggle for power,” he said, adding the federal coalition government should also play its role because the security of every citizen was the responsibility of the state.

He said ANP was the only party that had always raised voice for the masses and against terrorists. He demanded of the government to take concrete steps to maintain peace in Dir and Swat.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2022