KHYBER: The livestock department has launched a two-year centralised poultry promotion project in the merged districts in order to strengthen the rural economy and reduce poverty.

Officials said that a total of 2,000 limited-scale poultry farms would be established at local level with special focus on facilitating widows and impoverished families.

They said that the project would help promote poultry farming and breeding of better hen breeds along with increasing egg production, strengthening the economic condition of poor families, especially widows.

Director livestock, Khyber, Dr Mohammad Shakir told Dawn that 300 such poultry farms would be set up in Khyber in two years. He said focal persons of the local parliamentarians were assigned the task to select deserving families and persons for poultry farming.

He said he selected family or person would be required to deposit an amount of Rs2,000. He added that a similar-size poultry farm was available in the open market for Rs15,000. “Every selected family or widow would be provided with two roosters and 10 hens after a thorough scrutiny of all the selected persons,” he stated.

“This project will specifically benefit the poor families as it will provide them a decent source of earning,” he added.

Meanwhile, Landi Kotal tehsil chairman Shah Khalid has expressed reservations over empowering the so-called focal persons of the local MNA and MPAs for selection of poor families and widows, and insisted it would promote nepotism and favouritism in distribution of poultry farms.

He said that being a project of the livestock department, the elected Kisan and women councillors should have been assigned the responsibilities of distributing the allocated quota of poultry farms to most deserving families and persons.

He alleged that the parliamentarians had in the past manipulated projects in their favour despite devolution of some departments after the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

POLICE POST RENAMED: DPO Khyber on Thursday named a recently renovated police post after a martyred police official in Bara.

A statement issued by the DPO office said that formerly known as Waziristan chowki was now named after Muhammad Tayyab Saheed who embraced martyrdom in July 2023 when terrorists attacked and blew up the Bara tehsil compound.

Speaking on the occasion, DPO Waqar Ahmad Khan said that the bravery, duty consciousness and sacrifices of the Khyber police in acts of terrorism was a beacon and source of inspiration for the rest of the force.

Children and other family members of the martyred Muhammad Tayyab were also present on the occasion whom the DPO assured of all possible assistance and welfare by the police department.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025