CHITRAL: Residents of the remote Broghil Valley have voiced strong reservations over the establishment of Broghil National Park, demanding of the government to address mounting fears regarding their potential displacement and the systemic exclusion from the employment opportunities.

Speaking to Dawn, Amin Jan Tajik, former village nazim of the valley, highlighted a deep generational divide fueled by uncertainty. He noted that while the younger generation remained hopeful, the elderly were gripped by the fear of being ousted from their ancestral lands to make way for wildlife conservation.

According to Mr Tajik, these fears are substantiated by the park’s current zoning as per which the human settlements are reportedly situated within the “core zone” of the national park, an area where human habitation is strictly prohibited. This technical classification has led many to believe that a mass vacation of the valley would become inevitable.

Beyond the threat of displacement, the former nazim slammed the provincial authorities for “fostering a sense of deprivation” by denying locals even the lowliest employment opportunities. He lamented that Class-IV positions, including those for chowkidars, peons and labourers were consistently awarded to non-locals.

“Recently, out of 16 advertised posts across various cadres, only one position for a watcher was given to a local applicant,” Mr Tajik revealed. He cited a glaring example where an individual from Torkhow Valley, located 200 kilometres away, was appointed as a chowkidar for the park. “Was there not a single person in all of Broghil eligible to serve as a watchman?” he questioned.

The management of the park’s social components has also come under fire. Mr Tajik pointed out that while social mobilisation was a cornerstone of such conservation projects, the provincial hierarchy appointed a woman from the Mardan District as the social organiser.

He argued that it was practically impossible for a non-local woman to travel to and reside in one of the country’s most rugged and remote frontiers to effectively carry out mobilisation duties.

The residents have called upon the provincial government and the wildlife department to re-evaluate the park’s zoning and ensure that the rights and livelihoods of the indigenous community are protected before proceeding further.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2026