Grass-root politician lives up to his legacy

Yasir Khan content to work through the ranks amid shifting political landscape

ATTOCK:

When Yasir Khan Jalalia was first elected to public office in 2015, he was on a mission to change the face of Jalalia, a sleepy agricultural town of 20,000 people on the northern tip of the Potohar Plateau in Punjab’s Attock district.

A strapping young man of 25 with boundless energy and infectious enthusiasm, he was confident of accomplishing his goals as he had the pedigree and upbringing for the job. His grandfather, Muzaffar Khan Jalalia, had served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the 50s. His father had served the district council with distinction. His family was one of the biggest landowners in the area and had long served as a mediator in disputes. He had seen it happen since he was a child and took over from his ailing father as the eldest son.

Nearly a decade on, he retains the energy and enthusiasm, but it appears tempered with worldly wisdom.

“On my first day as the chairman of the Jalalia union council (UC), I asked my secretaries what kind of relief I could provide to the people,” he told The Express Tribune while sipping tea on his lawn at the ancestral village located at the halfway mark on the road between Islamabad and Peshawar.

Under the Punjab Local Government Act 2015, which has since been amended to give more powers at the Nazim level, the chairman signed birth and death certificates. “And if a man wants to remarry, he needs permission from his wife and the UC chairman,” he continued.

He quickly found out that the funds at his disposal were barely enough for payroll. He knew that any uplift work would require personal investment – including resources – while lobbying with the local lawmakers to get the financial grants approved. In this his personal as well as family friends – his ancestors came from Afghanistan at least 150 years ago – were helpful. It also helped that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party he supports, was in power.

Yasir’s first major undertaking was the upgradation of the sole girls’ school serving the nine villages in Jalalia from primary to middle (grade 8) level. “Quite a few parents were reluctant to send their daughters to the school in the nearby city of Hazro,” he said. The issue was always close to his heart having seen the benefits of the empowering effects of education in the case of his six sisters.

The school was upgraded in 2017, with a new building and a computer lab added to the existing facility. He had similar plans to set up a college for boys and have the girls’ school upgraded to matriculation.

“But the change of government in 2018 meant existing projects were unceremoniously aborted, funds frozen and approvals stalled,” he said.

As we spoke, there was a regular stream of visitors. Yasir stood up to greet each one of them while switching from Hindko to Pushto to Urdu depending upon the interlocutors. “This is grass-roots politics. Only by meeting people can I know what is their most pressing issue,” explained Yasir.

He has a few feathers in his cap as a budding politician, he told me while mentioning the gas supply to two villages. Efforts to overhaul the existing healthcare facility, established on land donated by his father back in the 80s, didn’t take off due to a lack of funds. Another project for cleaning nullahs met a similar fate – ‘with funds redistributed to people closer to the new chief minister after the change of regime’ – but he remained hopeful of reviving it at the next opportunity.

“If a politician fails to deliver on his promise, how can he face his people,” he asks.

When asked about the current political landscape, he said he was inspired by leaders with a vision. Nawaz Sharif had a vision with his motorways, he pointed out, improving accessibility which had a domino effect on infrastructure and economy.

For now, he remains committed to local politics, saying he would wait for his opportunity to participate in elections at the provincial and national levels. “Till then, I will continue to do what I do and build my ‘resume’ while supporting my party and its candidates in the best possible manner.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2023.