LOWER DIR: Social and political figures in Lower Dir have renewed their demand for administrative restructuring in Malakand division including creation of the proposed Panjkora division, the bifurcation of Timergara tehsil and the establishment of a separate Central Dir district.

Speaking to journalists in Talash on Tuesday, Qaumi Islahi Jirga Talash Dushkhel president Muhammad Israr, general secretary Dr Noor Muhammad, retired district police officer Mumtaz Zarin, social activist Akbar Khan and PTI activist Ibrahim Khan said successive governments had announced several administrative reforms, but little progress had been made towards their implementation.

They said repeated announcements without practical steps had increased public scepticism.

The speakers noted that Malakand division, with a population of nearly 10 million according to the 2023 census, is the largest division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They recalled that the proposal to create a new Panjkora division, comprising Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Bajaur and adjoining districts, was announced during the tenure of former chief minister Mahmood Khan but has yet to materialise.

They also pointed out that Timergara tehsil, with a population exceeding 550,000, had been earmarked for bifurcation through the establishment of a separate Talash tehsil. The proposal was announced by former chief minister Mahmood Khan and subsequently reaffirmed by his successor. However, despite the passage of nearly three years, no formal notification has yet been issued, they added.

The participants said growing population, increasing administrative pressures and difficulties in access to public services made the establishment of Talash tehsil and other proposed reforms an urgent necessity.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2026