SWAT: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former district naib nazim Malik Siddique Ahmed on Saturday accused the administration of demolishing his hotels and buildings worth Rs900 million while sparing the properties of influential individuals.

Speaking at a press conference at his residence in Sangota, he alleged that the federal minister, Amir Muqam, managed to save his hotel but did nothing to safeguard their properties, despite having supported him in the past.

The local government chairman, Naseer Ahmed, Anwar Iqbal Bale, Kifayatullah Bacha, Malik Fayaz Khan, Swat Hotels Association president Haji Zahid Khan, Ahmed Shah, Javed Ali Shah and several other hoteliers and elders were present on the occasion.

Mr Ahmed claimed that provincial minister Fazal Hakim, while sitting alongside the chief minister, deliberately singled out his hotels for demolition.

He said that from Kalam to Landakay, no action had been taken against the structures of the powerful, whereas weaker groups had been victimised, as several hotels and commercial buildings had been razed, causing heavy losses to businesses and tourism.

He maintained that he had constructed his hotels on ancestral land in 1995 after obtaining due permission from the TMA, and argued that if the structures were illegal, electricity and gas connections would not have been provided.

He further alleged that despite negotiations, the ADC and AC ordered the demolition of his hotels only, and protesters were subjected to live fire and tear gas.

Accusing Swat MPAs and federal minister Amir Muqam of being equally complicit, he said they had already won cases in courts of law, yet the administration refused to honour the verdicts.

Meanwhile, Swat Hotels Association president Haji Zahid Khan claimed that the stubborn attitude of the government and administration had inflicted a loss of Rs9.5 billion on the hotel industry.

He warned that if the situation did not improve, all hotels in Swat would be closed and tourists would be asked not to visit the valley.

He further alleged that under the guise of anti-encroachment operations, the government was alienating the public and paving the way for militancy — a move they would strongly resist.

Mr Ahmed urged the chief justice of Pakistan to intervene immediately and ensure justice.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025