Unyielding: Shinkiari residents threaten to hold sit-in

CM Pervez Khattak announced Bafa as the headquarters of Bafa tehsil although it has only four union councils

MANSEHRA: Residents of 12 union councils of Siran and Koonsh valleys have threatened to hold a sit-in outside Chief Minister House in Peshawar if their demand to make Shinkiari the tehsil headquarters of Bafa is not fulfilled.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, they criticised the provincial government for preferring the minority over the majority by declaring Bafa the tehsil headquarters of Mansehra.

They said Chief Minister Pervez Khattak announced Bafa as the headquarters of Bafa tehsil although it has only four union councils. According to the resident, Khattak ignored the fact that Shinkiari is spread over 12 union councils, with a population of thousands.

Those present on the occasion included Tehreek-e-Tehsil Shinkiari President Shabbir Khan, district council member Sardar Shah Khan, Anjuman-e-Tajran Shinkiari President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Khan and Jamaat-e-Islami Shinkiari chief Bakhtiar Khan.

“Is this the change Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been advocating for?” Shabbir questioned.

The people of Shinkiari vowed to continue their protest under the banner of Tehreek-e-Tehsil Shinkiari until the government reversed its decision and announced Shinkiari as the headquarters of Bafa tehsil.

Residents said they would initially hold a sit-in outside CM House and then take their protests to Bani Gala, Islamabad.

Alternative

They demanded that if the provincial government was not in a position to reverse its decision then it should declare Shinkiari the fifth tehsil of Mansehra. According to them, the region had all that was needed for an area to be declared a tehsil.

A couple of days back, Khattak announced Bafa as the fourth tehsil of Mansehra. The announcement was made amid protest and shutter down strike by traders and residents of different villages of Shinkiari. They kept Karakoram Highway blocked for over two hours. However, they only agreed to remove the blockade once the district administration had vowed to take up the matter with the provincial government.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2016.