Lack of medical facility: Shabqadar residents block roads in protest

Demonstrations started after death of student

SHABQADAR: Locals blocked the main Mohmand-Shabqadar road in a protest against the non-availability of basic health facilities in the tehsil headquarters.

They were infuriated over the fact that a seminary student, Fareedullah, was unable to be treated after he and two of his passengers were seriously injured in a bike accident. They said the hospital lacked all basic facilities and the two ambulances were not in working order to shift the Madrassa Rahmania, Shabqadar students to Peshawar.

Fareed succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. Locals, along with tehsil council member Maulana Rahmanullah, village nazims Manzoor Khan, Fawad Khan and other councillors, blocked the road for traffic on Sunday morning.



They shouted slogans against the health department and demanded basic health facilities at the tehsil headquarters hospital.

Rahmanullah recalled that after the Shabqadar court blast on March 7, the health minister and secretary promised basic health facilities on a priority basis at the time. However, two months on, another patient succumbed to his injuries due to the missing facilities. Later, Medical Superintendent Dr Fazal Rabi and Shabqadar SHO Saeed Khan held talks with the protesters and the road was opened. However, the demonstrators warned they would lock the hospital gates if the necessary facilities were not provided. They stressed it was the services that they required and not just a building.

Donation campaign

Locals started a donation campaign to reconstruct Matta Road leading to Mohmand dam and linking Shabqadar tehsil to Tangi. The road has been damaged for long and the lack of repair work has added to the sufferings of locals. Village nazim Wakeel khan, councillor Arbab Haroon Khan, JI leader Qari Shafiullah and others collected donations from travellers on the road.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2016.