LOWER DIR: Representatives of political parties, traders and civil society organisations on Saturday opposed the proposed privatisation of Samarbagh Hospital and warned of launching protests if the decision was not withdrawn.

Speaking at a press conference here, they said the hospital’s privatisation would adversely affect healthcare for poor patients.

Tehsil chairman Syed Saeed Ahmad Pacha, Jamaat-i-Islami leader Dr Sarbiland Khan, JI district deputy chief Abdul Wadud Jan, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl general secretary Maulana Matiullah, JI youth president Salahuddin, Kambat Bazaar president Khaista Rehman, Samarbagh medical store association president Usman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Malik Wilayat Khan and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Anwar Badshah spoke on the occasion.

They also demanded transparency in the distribution of Zakat funds to ensure that deserving people received financial assistance.

MPA says opposition politicising matter

Expressing concern over rising incidents of theft and armed robberies in the area, the participants urged law enforcement agencies to take immediate steps to improve the law and order situation.

They warned that protest demonstrations would begin from March 5 if the government failed to withdraw the reported privatisation plan of the hospital. They also announced approaching the court, saying all constitutional and legal options would be exercised to ‘safeguard public interests’.

Meanwhile, MPA from Jandol Ubaidur Rehman rejected claims regarding the hospital’s privatisation, saying opposition parties were politicising the matter.

In a video message, he said there was no truth in reports about the hospital being privatised and added that the provincial government would remove the facility from the privatisation list within one to two weeks. He said the hospital’s condition had improved and expressed hope that the chief minister would soon grant it the status of a teaching hospital.

ATTACK CONDEMNED: Jamaat-i-Islami workers from Sheikhan village council on Saturday condemned the reported armed attack on the party’s Lower Dir general secretary Shuaib Ahmad, terming it a cowardly and regrettable act.

In a statement, the workers said such tactics could neither suppress the ‘voice of truth’ in the past nor would they succeed in doing so in the future. They said Mr Ahmad belonged to a respectable family, adding the people of Timergara had never tolerated intimidation, coercion or hooliganism.

They maintained that differences of opinion should be resolved through dialogue and legal means rather than violence.

The party workers demanded an immediate and transparent investigation into the incident to bring those involved to justice.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2026