CHITRAL: The elders of Kalash valleys of Rumbur and Bumburet have expressed their serious concerns over the way the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) and Ayun Valley’s Development Programme (AVDP) are carrying out construction work in these valleys, saying that these institutions are misusing funds provided by the donors which would not benefit the region.

Addressing a press conference at Chitral Press Club the other day, minority councilor Noor Shali and elders Sarawat Shah, Habib Noor, Buzurg Ahmed and others said that these institutions, instead of taking the public into confidence and forming a supervisory and audit committee including themselves while starting any construction work, hand it over to contractors through tenders, which wastes a large portion of the allocated money for a project.

They said that after taking funds from the donors in the name of poverty in the Kalash valleys, therefore, this money should not be spent through contractors who earn a large portion of the funds as profit.

The valley’s supporters strongly condemned the project’s total disregard for the community, saying they would no longer tolerate this game in the name of their valleys, while the company’s engineers resort to mistreatment of the community when they point out shoddy work.

Organisations say it’s due to misunderstanding, lack of knowledge

All the three organisations refuted the allegations of the elites and said that the views expressed by them were based on misunderstanding or lack of knowledge.

Wali Muhammad Yaftali, regional programme manager (RPM) of AKAH, said that his organisation had constructed thirty six rooms in seven different schools of the valleys by spending the funds through the local communities.

The RPM of AKRSP, Sajjad Hussain Shah also refuted the allegations and said that the revamping of two irrigation channels in Bumburate was completed with the active participation of local communities while the involvement and cooperation of the local people was always ensured.

The manager of AVDP, Javed Ahmed, said that it was the local support organization of the three Kalash valleys and Ayun village whose board of directors were elected from each village while there was no question of the exclusion of local community from the development process.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the minority councilors from the Kalash valleys Nabek advocate and Unnat Baig, Shamsu Rabi and others criticised councilor Noor Shahli and his companions for disputing the organisations carrying out development works in the Kalash valleys.

They said that the selected few persons of the valleys were not representing the majority of residents but they had their own personal interests who had no concrete evidence other than making allegations against the institutions.

They said that by trying to disparage the image of the organisations, they were doing disservice to the community because this could lead to institutions working in the valleys becoming hostile and disinterested viz-a-viz development of the area.

Published in Dawn, Aug 1st, 2025