MANSEHRA: Baffa-Pakhal tehsil council on Wednesday sought logistical support, security, fire tenders, water bowsers and other essential services from the district administration for the three-day Tableeghi Jamaat congregation scheduled to be held in its jurisdiction next week.

“We are expecting a historic crowd from across Hazara and Gilgit-Baltistan for this three-day congregation, and although the organisers are managing arrangements on a self-help basis, we still require logistical and security support to ensure the event proceeds without any untoward situation,” Sardar Shah Khan, tehsil chairman Baffa-Pakhal, said in a letter addressed to the deputy commissioner.

He said the second Tableeghi Ijtema for Circle 9, which includes Hazara division and Gilgit-Baltistan, was scheduled to take place in Baffa from May 23 to 25.

“We need police deployment, including traffic wardens, to manage the crowd and traffic, two fire tenders, four water bowsers to ensure water supply, and sanitation staff equipped with machinery and equipment,” the letter added.

Mohammad Shaukat, one of the organisers, told reporters that around 3,000 kanals of land had been designated for the three-day gathering.

“Such an event was previously organised only for residents of Mansehra district, but this is the first time that people from across Hazara, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and even from abroad, will participate in it,” he said.

TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE: Residents of Pulrah on Wednesday urged the government to build tourism infrastructure and roads in the Tanawal area to pave the way for local development and prosperity.

“Tanawal is rich in minerals and natural beauty, but remains beyond the reach of visitors due to the lack of roads and basic infrastructure,” Waheed Anjum, a former district councillor, told reporters in Pulrah.

Accompanied by a group of locals, Mr Anjum said that although the provincial government had expressed its desire to promote tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it had yet to take effective steps to achieve meaningful results.

“The Siri mountains near Pulrah are a unique destination with natural beauty, but tourists cannot access them because the government has yet to construct a road to connect it with Tanawal,” he said.

He added that if the Pulrah–Siri Road was constructed and tourism developed in the area, hundreds of local residents, currently unemployed, could start their own businesses.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2025