CHITRAL: The video of a local lawyer setting the traditional Chitrali cap on fire as a way of protest against the government has drawn mixed reaction from Chitralis living in Peshawar, Islamabad, Karachi, and even in the UAE.

Lawyer Waqas Ahmed had burnt his feather-appended white Chitrali cap after dousing it in gasoline last week when KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan did not announce rehabilitation of the dilapidated Airport Road in the city on the occasion of his visit to the district a few days ago.

The owners of a number of net cafes told Dawn that the footage of the burning Chitrali cap had been the best seller since the incident occurred as people waited in queues to get it transferred onto their mobile phones.

Mohammad Rahim Baig Laal, a fervent user of social media, said some of the major social media websites registered tens of thousands of views of the footage and a very large number of users put their comments both in favour and against.The busy Airport Road, which links the Garam Chashma and Karimabad valleys with the city, has been in a worst state for last five years.

Waqas Ahmed Advocate, a daily user of the road, took the extreme step when the chief executive of the province did not take notice of the bumpy road despite the fact that he himself drove to the DC House after landing from his helicopter at the airport.“When I came to know that the chief minister left the DC house without taking any notice of the road, I went to my house and set my Chitrali cap on fire in protest while my little daughter made video of it,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2019