Kohistanis protest against hiring non-residents

Demonstrators said more protests will follow if rights of locals go unprotected

KOHISTAN: A number of residents took to the streets on Friday to protest the short-listing of non-Kohistani candidates for the position of sub-engineer.

Led by Maulana Waliullah Toheedi, the rally started from Jamia Masjid Komela after Friday prayers and marched towards the Karakorum Highway where the protesters blocked the way for some time.

Various speakers shared the Kohistan Area Development Project (KHADP) had announced four posts for sub-engineers a few months back. Although many local youth applied and met the criteria but KHADP authorities only short-listed those applicants who were not domiciled in Kohistan. Short-listing non-locals is the result of political meddling by parliamentarians who do not want to give these jobs to Kohistanis for unascertained reasons, said those addressing the protesters.

They demanded the KHADP authorities and Kohistan district commissioner void the short-list and conduct fresh tests/interviews to give locals a chance. They threatened of more protests if the rights of Kohistanis are not protected.

Samad Noor, Shah Amanul Haq, Saifur Rehman and Shamsur Rehman were some of the prominent speakers at the rally.