KHYBER: The Jamaat-i-Islami, Khyber chapter, on Friday flayed the provincial government for ‘ignoring’ the Landi Kotal tehsil in development projects.

Addressing a news conference at the District Press Club, JI emir Murad Hussain, along with office-bearers Haji Gul, Maroof Afridi and Sharifullah, alleged that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had outright ignored the tehsil in terms of development, whereas the local elected representatives had also failed to secure due rights for their electorates.

They said that people in Landi Kotal faced water shortage, excessive power loadshedding, lack of health and education facilities. They said the local parliamentarians failed to get a mega project for the area included in the budget.

Alleging the increasing involvement of a brother of the chief minister in the administrative affairs, they claimed that local parliamentarians too were running after him for personal favours.

Murad Hussain accused the chief minister of announcing huge development schemes for constituencies of his liking, including the approval of a nursing hostel in his own constituency, but failing to provide specialised doctors and modern equipment to the District Headquarters Hospital, Landi Kotal.

He said that schools in Landi Kotal faced a shortage of qualified teachers and excessive loadshedding, affecting students’ studies. He called for solarising schools.

He said that traffic on the main Peshawar-Torkham highway remained suspended for several hours due to flash floods, adding that the government failed to construct the promised six bridges at appropriate locations on the artery to ensure smooth traffic flow during rains.

He urged the CM to bar his brother from interfering in the working of government departments and personally visit Landi Kotal to ascertain the problems faced by residents.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026