Redrawing boundaries: PML-N in G-B welcomes formation of new districts

Regional president says if the districts are created, locals would face fewer hardships

GILGIT: The regional leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has backed the formation of new districts in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), saying the move would reduce the hardships faced by people living in the mountainous region.

“We are not against new districts,” said PML-N G-B President Hafizur Rehman while speaking to The Express Tribune on Sunday. Rehman made the comments after residents of Diamer and Ghizer districts complained that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ignored their demands during his recent visit to Gilgit during which he announced the formation of Hunza, Nagar, Shigar and Kharmang districts.

“If the new districts are carved out, the people of G-B will benefit while the government will also be able to manage them effectively,” said Rehman. He added law and order would also improve and a big chunk of the budget which is being spent on security would be diverted to development. “The region is mountainous and people live in scattered and remote valleys. If a district set-up is given to them, their daily lives would become easier.”

Explaining some of the problems locals are facing at the moment, Rehman said in Diamer people living in Darel-Tangir Valley have to travel for about four hours to reach the district headquarters, Chilas. “They are mostly poor people and travelling on rough roads for four hours daily is not an ideal situation,” Rehman said, referring to residents of Darel-Tangir who flayed the premier for not giving their area the status of a district. “The situation is the same for Ghizer Valley.”

Rehman added that even though G-B’s population is less than Punjab or Sindh but the difficult terrain that people have to traverse to reach government offices justifies the creation of more districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2015.