CHITRAL: The people of Bamburate, Birir and Rumbur valleys have demanded of government to ban all development and non-development works by Kalash Valleys Development Authority (KVDA) till disposal of its case by Peshawar High Court as the residents of these four valleys have serious reservations over it.

Addressing a press conference at Chitral Press Club here on Monday, Malik Shaye, Kamaluddin, Mohiuddin, Ibadullah, Buzurg Ahmed, Qudratullah, Advocate Abdul Rafi, Akhtar Mohammad, Abdul Wahid and others said that in the year 2019, the then provincial government set up KVDA, which was apparently aimed at development and prosperity of the area.

“When we carefully studied its policies and laws, we found that its policy is harmful and cruel to our valleys,” they alleged. They said that the livelihood of locals consisted of herding and agriculture, and implementation of the objectionable and controversial policy of KVDA would completely destroy their livelihood leading to abject poverty.

They said that they were not opposed to development, but were against the forcibly imposed policies and laws. “Unfortunately, the focus of this institution is solely to take over the management of local lands in the name of development and generate revenue by imposing taxes on people and in case of non-payment, impose heavy fines on them,” they alleged.

The local elders said that since the beginning, the people of the area held several rallies against the authority and also contacted relevant departments of government, but to no avail.

They reiterated that their case against KVDA was being heard in the high court, but the organisation was trying to continue its work in the valleys. They said that they were again forced to demand of provincial government through the press conference that the authority should be abolished, otherwise it should be prepared for a severe public reaction. “God forbid, if any unpleasant incident occurs, the entire responsibility will lie with KVDA and the provincial government,” they added.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2026