By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, March 21, 2010: Literary figures and poets from Chitral have demanded that the government should take initiatives to protect their language and culture which have long been marginalised due to lack of patronage.
They were speaking at a literary function arranged by the Khyber News television channel in collaboration with the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) here on Saturday.
The speakers said Chitral was a treasure trove of ancient traditions and languages, stressing that out of about 30 languages in the NWFP, 14 were spoken in the Chitral. About 1.2 million people living in Chitral and some parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, besides many more around the world, speak the Khowar language.
The speakers regretted that no steps had ever been taken at the government level for protection and preservation of small languages and cultures in the district, which could help promote national integration and eliminate the sense of deprivation among the marginalised sections of society.
“Many of our ancient traditions particularly folk games, folk stories and practices have disappeared in the recent past and if the trend continued a day would come when we would lose our remaining vestige of the past, including our mother language,” they warned.
They said Chitralis at the individual level and under the umbrella of Anjuman Taraqi-i-Khowar had been working to preserve and protect the language. However, government departments and agencies, including the state-owned electronic media, always ignored Chitral as far as promotion of its cultures and language was concerned.
The speakers demanded that the government should open offices of the PAL and the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Chitral to promote the cultural heritage, especially at a time when the country was poised to open up to the Central Asian states with the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
They also demanded setting up of a university in the valley and publication of a Khowar dictionary.
“The CDA should also name at least two roads after legendary Chitrali poets and writers Mohammad Shakoor and Baba Mohammad Siyar,” they added.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
MNA seeks removal of ‘flaws’ in Norwegian project
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, March 20: Member National Assembly from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin has expressed the fear that the Rs1 billion Norwegian-funded development project in his district may not achieve the desired results if flaws and lack of transparency in its execution system were not removed on time.
Talking to Dawn here, he said he had pointed out all the shortcomings and technical flaws to the Norwegian ambassador at a meeting in Islamabad and expressed the hope that the government of Norway would take timely steps to remove them in the best interest of the people of Chitral.
He said the five-year Chitral Integrated Area Development Project (CIADP) was launched in 2009 without taking stakeholders into confidence. Besides, the project has been contracted out to an Islamabad-based firm which has no experience of carrying out development work in the area. About 20 per cent of the funds would go to the firm which has hired offices in Islamabad and Chitral drawing extra finances from the project.
He said the firm had hired inexperienced human resource at the cost of quality project implementation. As a result, so far there have been no substantial development initiatives in areas where the firm claims it has launched works.
The MNA said the people of his area welcomed the mega project and hoped that it would help build their capacities to meet the new challenges especially after the opening up of the valley with the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
However, to attain the desired objectives it was imperative that the project responded to the needs of the local population. At the moment, he said, this does not seem to be happening leading to fears that incompetence and lack of transparency in the project execution may lead to wastage of the money.
Mr Mohiuddin also said representatives of almost all political parties in the district had expressed concern that they were not taken into confidence about the implementation of the project. He, however, regretted that the Norwegian authorities seemed to be in the dark about the flaws in the project implementation and how their taxpayers’ money would be utilised.
He also pointed out that the Islamabad-based company should not play the role of an implementer because it lacked experience in understanding the local environment and requirements. The local communities should be involved in the development process because they have demonstrated in the past that projects executed with their participation had always been effective, efficient and sustainable.
He said the Norwegian authorities were even unable to say how much money had so far been released to the project and its different sectors.
When contacted, an official at the Norwegian embassy said they had hired the private firm through a transparent process which would implement the project in collaboration with the district government. He said they had briefed the MNA about the project in detail.--Dawn
ISLAMABAD, March 20: Member National Assembly from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin has expressed the fear that the Rs1 billion Norwegian-funded development project in his district may not achieve the desired results if flaws and lack of transparency in its execution system were not removed on time.
Talking to Dawn here, he said he had pointed out all the shortcomings and technical flaws to the Norwegian ambassador at a meeting in Islamabad and expressed the hope that the government of Norway would take timely steps to remove them in the best interest of the people of Chitral.
He said the five-year Chitral Integrated Area Development Project (CIADP) was launched in 2009 without taking stakeholders into confidence. Besides, the project has been contracted out to an Islamabad-based firm which has no experience of carrying out development work in the area. About 20 per cent of the funds would go to the firm which has hired offices in Islamabad and Chitral drawing extra finances from the project.
He said the firm had hired inexperienced human resource at the cost of quality project implementation. As a result, so far there have been no substantial development initiatives in areas where the firm claims it has launched works.
The MNA said the people of his area welcomed the mega project and hoped that it would help build their capacities to meet the new challenges especially after the opening up of the valley with the construction of the Lowari Tunnel.
However, to attain the desired objectives it was imperative that the project responded to the needs of the local population. At the moment, he said, this does not seem to be happening leading to fears that incompetence and lack of transparency in the project execution may lead to wastage of the money.
Mr Mohiuddin also said representatives of almost all political parties in the district had expressed concern that they were not taken into confidence about the implementation of the project. He, however, regretted that the Norwegian authorities seemed to be in the dark about the flaws in the project implementation and how their taxpayers’ money would be utilised.
He also pointed out that the Islamabad-based company should not play the role of an implementer because it lacked experience in understanding the local environment and requirements. The local communities should be involved in the development process because they have demonstrated in the past that projects executed with their participation had always been effective, efficient and sustainable.
He said the Norwegian authorities were even unable to say how much money had so far been released to the project and its different sectors.
When contacted, an official at the Norwegian embassy said they had hired the private firm through a transparent process which would implement the project in collaboration with the district government. He said they had briefed the MNA about the project in detail.--Dawn
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Risk allowance for Chitral police soon
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD, March 13, 2010: Like other districts of the Malakand Division, the NWFP government will also pay special risk allowance to the Chitral police, according to chitraltoday.com.
This was stated by Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan on the demand of MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin in the National Assembly on Thursday.
The MNA from Chitral complained that his district, which equally suffered due to the law and order situation and military operation in the region, had been exempted from the benefit being provided to the other five districts of the Malakand Division since October 2009. He said the Chitral police had also rendered sacrifices to maintain law and order in the valley as well as other parts of the region and should be provided all the facilities at par with their counterparts in the region.
He demanded that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and the ANP chief should order the payment of the special allowance to the Chital police without delay, reported chitraltoday.com.
Speaking on the occasion, the ANP chief supported Mr Mohiuddin’s demand and said he would ask the chief minister of the NWFP to extend the special risk allowance to the Chitral police as well. He said there would be no discrimination against any area as far as providing facilities to the law enforcement agencies fighting the menace of militancy and terrorism was concerned.
Under the double salary package announced for the NWFP, salaries of the police officials from constable to SP ranks have been increased substantially. If implemented in Chitral, police constables would get Rs3,000 extra, head constable Rs3,500, SI Rs4,000 and inspector Rs4,500.--chitraltoday.com
ISLAMABAD, March 13, 2010: Like other districts of the Malakand Division, the NWFP government will also pay special risk allowance to the Chitral police, according to chitraltoday.com.
This was stated by Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan on the demand of MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin in the National Assembly on Thursday.
The MNA from Chitral complained that his district, which equally suffered due to the law and order situation and military operation in the region, had been exempted from the benefit being provided to the other five districts of the Malakand Division since October 2009. He said the Chitral police had also rendered sacrifices to maintain law and order in the valley as well as other parts of the region and should be provided all the facilities at par with their counterparts in the region.
He demanded that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and the ANP chief should order the payment of the special allowance to the Chital police without delay, reported chitraltoday.com.
Speaking on the occasion, the ANP chief supported Mr Mohiuddin’s demand and said he would ask the chief minister of the NWFP to extend the special risk allowance to the Chitral police as well. He said there would be no discrimination against any area as far as providing facilities to the law enforcement agencies fighting the menace of militancy and terrorism was concerned.
Under the double salary package announced for the NWFP, salaries of the police officials from constable to SP ranks have been increased substantially. If implemented in Chitral, police constables would get Rs3,000 extra, head constable Rs3,500, SI Rs4,000 and inspector Rs4,500.--chitraltoday.com
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Chitralis oppose occupation of natural resources by outsiders
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Frontier Miners Association’s Chitral chapter has warned of a strong resistance against bids to lease the valley’s natural resources to outsiders and the alleged injustices and discrimination continuing against the local miners.
It called upon Chief Minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to put an end to the injustices with the small miners of Chitral.
The chairman of the association’s Chitral chapter, Col (retired) Sardar Mohammad, said that for the last over 15 years officials of the survey and drawing section of the Directorate of Mines and Minerals, NWFP, had been passing on the GPS coordinates, including the mineral area maps of the prospective miners to non-local parties, pouring cold water on years-long efforts of the would-be miners of Chitral.
He said local investors had been deprived of their rights to lease while well-connected parties were being allotted the prospective areas much to the detriment of the indigenous people.
“This shows that Chitral is not only being robbed of its non-renewable assets, but also outside parties are being given a free hand to plunder the resources leaving the locals entangled in a rotten system.”
Col Sardar said when the DMM director general initiated action against the officials, the latter began approaching highly-placed people to keep alive their hopes of retaining their jobs, caring less for the fast-brewing charged atmosphere in Chitral where nationalistic tendencies were at an all time high.
“Resentment against the corrupt system and its inept officials has engulfed the entire district and forced political opponents to find common grounds to rise against gross injustices spanning over the past 63 years,” he added.
He said the local chapters of the PPP, PPP-S, PML-N, PML-Q, JUI, JI and ANP had agreed to safeguard the interest of the area and formed a mines and minerals monitoring committee to force the government to stop discrimination against the nascent local mining sector.
The monitoring committee, which is also headed by Col Sardar, has demanded that the government should share allotted areas’ details with the committee and the district administration, get the committee and the district administration’s clearance that personal property of local residents is not leased out, start work in an allotted area within three months of the issuance of clearance certificates, stop discrimination against the locals and ensure through a transparent system that locals get preference in lease allotments.
He said that amid rising unemployment rate in the remote district, such injustices were seen by all as the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people. If not mitigated forthwith, such injustices have all the ingredients to spark violence in an otherwise calm Chitral that has served as a beacon of peace and force its residents towards a Balochistan-like situation. There is already a loud talk by Hazara district nazims to form a separate province where their rights are safeguarded and Chitral is being forced to think on the same lines.
Col Sardar called upon Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to play the role of a statesman to safeguard the rights of Chitral and end the sense of deprivation in the district.
ISLAMABAD: The Frontier Miners Association’s Chitral chapter has warned of a strong resistance against bids to lease the valley’s natural resources to outsiders and the alleged injustices and discrimination continuing against the local miners.
It called upon Chief Minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to put an end to the injustices with the small miners of Chitral.
The chairman of the association’s Chitral chapter, Col (retired) Sardar Mohammad, said that for the last over 15 years officials of the survey and drawing section of the Directorate of Mines and Minerals, NWFP, had been passing on the GPS coordinates, including the mineral area maps of the prospective miners to non-local parties, pouring cold water on years-long efforts of the would-be miners of Chitral.
He said local investors had been deprived of their rights to lease while well-connected parties were being allotted the prospective areas much to the detriment of the indigenous people.
“This shows that Chitral is not only being robbed of its non-renewable assets, but also outside parties are being given a free hand to plunder the resources leaving the locals entangled in a rotten system.”
Col Sardar said when the DMM director general initiated action against the officials, the latter began approaching highly-placed people to keep alive their hopes of retaining their jobs, caring less for the fast-brewing charged atmosphere in Chitral where nationalistic tendencies were at an all time high.
“Resentment against the corrupt system and its inept officials has engulfed the entire district and forced political opponents to find common grounds to rise against gross injustices spanning over the past 63 years,” he added.
He said the local chapters of the PPP, PPP-S, PML-N, PML-Q, JUI, JI and ANP had agreed to safeguard the interest of the area and formed a mines and minerals monitoring committee to force the government to stop discrimination against the nascent local mining sector.
The monitoring committee, which is also headed by Col Sardar, has demanded that the government should share allotted areas’ details with the committee and the district administration, get the committee and the district administration’s clearance that personal property of local residents is not leased out, start work in an allotted area within three months of the issuance of clearance certificates, stop discrimination against the locals and ensure through a transparent system that locals get preference in lease allotments.
He said that amid rising unemployment rate in the remote district, such injustices were seen by all as the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people. If not mitigated forthwith, such injustices have all the ingredients to spark violence in an otherwise calm Chitral that has served as a beacon of peace and force its residents towards a Balochistan-like situation. There is already a loud talk by Hazara district nazims to form a separate province where their rights are safeguarded and Chitral is being forced to think on the same lines.
Col Sardar called upon Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to play the role of a statesman to safeguard the rights of Chitral and end the sense of deprivation in the district.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Punish contractor for poor bridge construction
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: An influential contractor in Chitral is again using substandard material in the reconstruction of a bridge in Yarkhun valley after the collapse of another bridge in the area days after its completion killing three persons, the local residents alleged.
Talking to Dawn, they also accused contractor Mohammad Khan of changing the design of the bridge and decreasing its width in connivance with the officials of the works department though Rs140 million had been sanctioned for the project.
When the residents held a protest demonstration against the poor quality work on the bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district, the contractor assured them that fresh and quality material would be used in the project. However, a few days later he restarted work at the site using the same old stuff.
When the bridge collapsed in August 2006, the local residents had collected its material including strings, bolts and plunks and stored them in a nearby field. With the passage of time most of the material got damaged due to weathering and became unfit for use.
The residents of Yarkhun said the reconstruction of the only bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district had been in the cold storage for the over three years.
Official sources said the executive engineer works had imposed Rs1.4 million fine on the contractor and also recommended his blacklisting for failing to complete the project on time but so far action has not been taken against him.
Public representatives in the area said Mohammad Khan was also responsible for inordinate delay and poor quality work in major development projects in the district. They said misuse of funds, delay and poor quality work had been detected in a number of projects.
They cited the examples of the Booni-Shandur road, Molkhow road and Mastuj bridge projects which were awarded to the same contractor wholly or partially and were still incomplete.
When contacted, contractor Mohammad Khan rejected all the allegations and said to avoid backlash of the residents of Yarkhun, MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin and MPA Ghulam Mohammad were trying to make him a scapegoat and tarnish his image among the local people.
He said the elected representatives had tried to award the project to their cronies by floating tenders three times which caused delay in completion of the work. He said neither he was using the old material in the reconstruction of the bridge nor had reduced its width.
About extra payment made to him in the Attahk water project, he said the earlier estimate was made by an inexperienced consultant, after which another consultant raised the cost of the completed work, adding most of the payment had still not been made to him.--Dawn
ISLAMABAD: An influential contractor in Chitral is again using substandard material in the reconstruction of a bridge in Yarkhun valley after the collapse of another bridge in the area days after its completion killing three persons, the local residents alleged.
Talking to Dawn, they also accused contractor Mohammad Khan of changing the design of the bridge and decreasing its width in connivance with the officials of the works department though Rs140 million had been sanctioned for the project.
When the residents held a protest demonstration against the poor quality work on the bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district, the contractor assured them that fresh and quality material would be used in the project. However, a few days later he restarted work at the site using the same old stuff.
When the bridge collapsed in August 2006, the local residents had collected its material including strings, bolts and plunks and stored them in a nearby field. With the passage of time most of the material got damaged due to weathering and became unfit for use.
The residents of Yarkhun said the reconstruction of the only bridge connecting their area with other parts of the district had been in the cold storage for the over three years.
Official sources said the executive engineer works had imposed Rs1.4 million fine on the contractor and also recommended his blacklisting for failing to complete the project on time but so far action has not been taken against him.
Public representatives in the area said Mohammad Khan was also responsible for inordinate delay and poor quality work in major development projects in the district. They said misuse of funds, delay and poor quality work had been detected in a number of projects.
They cited the examples of the Booni-Shandur road, Molkhow road and Mastuj bridge projects which were awarded to the same contractor wholly or partially and were still incomplete.
When contacted, contractor Mohammad Khan rejected all the allegations and said to avoid backlash of the residents of Yarkhun, MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin and MPA Ghulam Mohammad were trying to make him a scapegoat and tarnish his image among the local people.
He said the elected representatives had tried to award the project to their cronies by floating tenders three times which caused delay in completion of the work. He said neither he was using the old material in the reconstruction of the bridge nor had reduced its width.
About extra payment made to him in the Attahk water project, he said the earlier estimate was made by an inexperienced consultant, after which another consultant raised the cost of the completed work, adding most of the payment had still not been made to him.--Dawn
Discord over Norwegian-funded project in Chitral
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Rs1 billion Norwegian funded Chitral Integrated Area Development Project (CIADP) will not produce desired results and is poised to create political polarisation in the area due to lack of clear plan and flaws in its execution system, development experts pointed out.
They said though the Norwegian government had taken a good step for development of Chitral, it did not take all the stakeholders into confidence before launching the mega project with the current district nazim from Jamaat-i-Islami as the head of its steering committee. Besides, questions are also being raised why Islamabad-based contractors, the Thrive, had been hired for management consultancy when there were non-profit making agencies that had already carried out a number of development projects in the valley.
About 10 to 20 per cent of the funds would go to the contractors, they said. Furthermore, there will be unnecessary expenditures on office hiring in Islamabad and Chitral by the contractors. Since the early 1980s, a number of NGOs have been working in the development sector and none of them has ever hired a contractor for execution of its schemes. Projects identification is done by the local communities and the schemes are executed on the basis of their feasibility. The contractors for CIADP have, however, neither taken local elected representatives of mainstream political parties into confidence nor briefed them about the schemes.
The project document is also silent on the much needed programme component - physically productive infrastructure projects. Besides, the contractors have not been able to satisfy the proposed implementing partners, community representatives and the beneficiaries on the modality of the programme and recruitment of the staff. The focus of the contractors has been on employing low-paid staff without considering its adverse impact on the quality of management.
MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin expressed regret that he was neither taken into confidence nor briefed about the project. He said the mandate of the district government had already ended and the future of the system was ambiguous. He claimed that the provincial government had also expressed its displeasure over the way it had been bypassed in launching the project. “The CIADP has been developed as if it is a slush fund for the district nazim. This is not good for Chitral. One person should not be in the deciding chair keeping in view the geo-political landscape of Chitral,” the MNA said, adding the JI nazim was taking undue political benefit from the project propagating that he had brought the funds for development of Chitral.
Mr Mohiuddin also objected to the formation of the project steering committee and said the area MNA, MPAs and representatives of all political parties should be included in it. He said instead of the district nazim the committee should be headed by the DCO who represents the provincial government and coordinates all development works. The district government overlooks only the portion of work controlled by the district assembly which is only a fraction of the overall development projects and does not include the provincial annual development plan and many other funding sources through the federal and provincial governments.Besides, the handlers of the funds are selecting projects sites without involving experts for feasibility study. Four areas have initially been selected and are being given lump-sump money with the task to carry out unspecified projects. These areas are: Beori valley,
Kargin, Chuinj villages in Mastuj tehsil, Nishkow in Molkhow and Runmbur in Kalash valley.
The MNA said projects launched in these areas would not complete in four to five years because the localities neither have local support organisations nor sufficient manpower. It would have been more productive had the fund utilised for the development of infrastructure in whole the district. He said educational institutions lacked buildings and primary schools having two rooms each accommodated six classes. The funds could have been used for providing missing facilities including classrooms in schools, he added.
When contacted for comments, Terje Thodesen, Counsellor Development, and Terje Barstad, Minsiter Counsellor, at the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad brushed aside the apprehensions and said they had completed all requirements and formalities before launching the project.
They said the project visualised in 2005 was launched on June 23, 2009, and would be completed in the year 2014 covering all parts of Chitral. They said the project proposals had come from the district government. During a Logical Framework Approach (LFA) workshop in 2007, all the stakeholders including the local NGOs were taken on board. In December 2008, they also held a meeting with the officials of the provincial local government department in Peshawar. The terms of reference were advertised and given to the local people.
They said the Islamabad-based management company, the Thrive, won the project as no other firm took part in the bidding which was open to all. Besides, the aim to award the project to Thrive was that it is the neutral firm having no political or whatsoever affiliations in the district. The steering committee is headed by the district nazim while a representative of the firm is its secretary. They said funds were not given under the direct control of the district nazim as the project was being executed by the company while the embassy oversaw its working. The hiring of staff for the project was also carried out by the company, they added. They said they were always ready to brief any political representative about the project, but so far nobody has contacted them.--Dawn
ISLAMABAD: The Rs1 billion Norwegian funded Chitral Integrated Area Development Project (CIADP) will not produce desired results and is poised to create political polarisation in the area due to lack of clear plan and flaws in its execution system, development experts pointed out.
They said though the Norwegian government had taken a good step for development of Chitral, it did not take all the stakeholders into confidence before launching the mega project with the current district nazim from Jamaat-i-Islami as the head of its steering committee. Besides, questions are also being raised why Islamabad-based contractors, the Thrive, had been hired for management consultancy when there were non-profit making agencies that had already carried out a number of development projects in the valley.
About 10 to 20 per cent of the funds would go to the contractors, they said. Furthermore, there will be unnecessary expenditures on office hiring in Islamabad and Chitral by the contractors. Since the early 1980s, a number of NGOs have been working in the development sector and none of them has ever hired a contractor for execution of its schemes. Projects identification is done by the local communities and the schemes are executed on the basis of their feasibility. The contractors for CIADP have, however, neither taken local elected representatives of mainstream political parties into confidence nor briefed them about the schemes.
The project document is also silent on the much needed programme component - physically productive infrastructure projects. Besides, the contractors have not been able to satisfy the proposed implementing partners, community representatives and the beneficiaries on the modality of the programme and recruitment of the staff. The focus of the contractors has been on employing low-paid staff without considering its adverse impact on the quality of management.
MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin expressed regret that he was neither taken into confidence nor briefed about the project. He said the mandate of the district government had already ended and the future of the system was ambiguous. He claimed that the provincial government had also expressed its displeasure over the way it had been bypassed in launching the project. “The CIADP has been developed as if it is a slush fund for the district nazim. This is not good for Chitral. One person should not be in the deciding chair keeping in view the geo-political landscape of Chitral,” the MNA said, adding the JI nazim was taking undue political benefit from the project propagating that he had brought the funds for development of Chitral.
Mr Mohiuddin also objected to the formation of the project steering committee and said the area MNA, MPAs and representatives of all political parties should be included in it. He said instead of the district nazim the committee should be headed by the DCO who represents the provincial government and coordinates all development works. The district government overlooks only the portion of work controlled by the district assembly which is only a fraction of the overall development projects and does not include the provincial annual development plan and many other funding sources through the federal and provincial governments.Besides, the handlers of the funds are selecting projects sites without involving experts for feasibility study. Four areas have initially been selected and are being given lump-sump money with the task to carry out unspecified projects. These areas are: Beori valley,
Kargin, Chuinj villages in Mastuj tehsil, Nishkow in Molkhow and Runmbur in Kalash valley.
The MNA said projects launched in these areas would not complete in four to five years because the localities neither have local support organisations nor sufficient manpower. It would have been more productive had the fund utilised for the development of infrastructure in whole the district. He said educational institutions lacked buildings and primary schools having two rooms each accommodated six classes. The funds could have been used for providing missing facilities including classrooms in schools, he added.
When contacted for comments, Terje Thodesen, Counsellor Development, and Terje Barstad, Minsiter Counsellor, at the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad brushed aside the apprehensions and said they had completed all requirements and formalities before launching the project.
They said the project visualised in 2005 was launched on June 23, 2009, and would be completed in the year 2014 covering all parts of Chitral. They said the project proposals had come from the district government. During a Logical Framework Approach (LFA) workshop in 2007, all the stakeholders including the local NGOs were taken on board. In December 2008, they also held a meeting with the officials of the provincial local government department in Peshawar. The terms of reference were advertised and given to the local people.
They said the Islamabad-based management company, the Thrive, won the project as no other firm took part in the bidding which was open to all. Besides, the aim to award the project to Thrive was that it is the neutral firm having no political or whatsoever affiliations in the district. The steering committee is headed by the district nazim while a representative of the firm is its secretary. They said funds were not given under the direct control of the district nazim as the project was being executed by the company while the embassy oversaw its working. The hiring of staff for the project was also carried out by the company, they added. They said they were always ready to brief any political representative about the project, but so far nobody has contacted them.--Dawn
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Chitral needs strong police to check incursions
By Zar Alam Khan
ISLAMABAD: Fearing more criminal and anti-state activities from across the border in Afghanistan, people of Chitral have asked the federal government to strengthen the local police and border security force on a priority basis.
Though Chitral has remained unaffected from Taliban militancy so far, its over 300-km-long poorly watched porous border with the three provinces of Afghanistan - Wakhan, Nooristan and Kunar – has seen unchecked movement of Afghan nationals including smugglers and criminals into the valley. And the recent kidnapping of a Greek national from Kalash valley has further exposed the vulnerability of the district to such an eventuality.
Security experts believe that any long-term strategy to contain Taliban resurrection and keep the Malakand division from any future militant activity is fraught with failure until Chitral-Afghan border was protected through enhanced security measures.
The Chitral police with its current strength of about 1,050 personnel are poorly equipped and unable to meet growing security concerns besides discharging their routine duty in the district spreading over 14,850 square kilometres. Besides, most of the Chitral Scouts personnel which used to man the border till the withdrawal of Russian forces from Afghanistan in 1989 now remain posted out in Gilgit-Baltistan and the violence-hit districts of the NWFP.
As the dust settles on the military operation against Taliban militants, the federal government is all set to raise a strong police force of 11,000 personnel for the Malakand division which will replace the army to maintain peace in the region. Though Chitral is a
district of the Malakand division and has suffered huge economic losses due to the recent law and order situation and is at the risk of increased militancy through its borders with Afghanistan as well as Swat and Dir districts, the government has strangely kept it
out of the future security arrangement.
When contacted, MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin, however, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured him that the district would get its share in the recruitment of 11,000 police personnel for the Malakand division. He said the minister was well aware of the security problems of the district and determined to strengthen the police and the border security fo
ISLAMABAD: Fearing more criminal and anti-state activities from across the border in Afghanistan, people of Chitral have asked the federal government to strengthen the local police and border security force on a priority basis.
Though Chitral has remained unaffected from Taliban militancy so far, its over 300-km-long poorly watched porous border with the three provinces of Afghanistan - Wakhan, Nooristan and Kunar – has seen unchecked movement of Afghan nationals including smugglers and criminals into the valley. And the recent kidnapping of a Greek national from Kalash valley has further exposed the vulnerability of the district to such an eventuality.
Security experts believe that any long-term strategy to contain Taliban resurrection and keep the Malakand division from any future militant activity is fraught with failure until Chitral-Afghan border was protected through enhanced security measures.
The Chitral police with its current strength of about 1,050 personnel are poorly equipped and unable to meet growing security concerns besides discharging their routine duty in the district spreading over 14,850 square kilometres. Besides, most of the Chitral Scouts personnel which used to man the border till the withdrawal of Russian forces from Afghanistan in 1989 now remain posted out in Gilgit-Baltistan and the violence-hit districts of the NWFP.
As the dust settles on the military operation against Taliban militants, the federal government is all set to raise a strong police force of 11,000 personnel for the Malakand division which will replace the army to maintain peace in the region. Though Chitral is a
district of the Malakand division and has suffered huge economic losses due to the recent law and order situation and is at the risk of increased militancy through its borders with Afghanistan as well as Swat and Dir districts, the government has strangely kept it
out of the future security arrangement.
When contacted, MNA from Chitral Shahzada Mohiuddin, however, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured him that the district would get its share in the recruitment of 11,000 police personnel for the Malakand division. He said the minister was well aware of the security problems of the district and determined to strengthen the police and the border security fo
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Awesome and rugged
Beauty of Chitral
Kishmanja, a beautiful village in Yarkhun valley
Lush green
DIZG: threatened by floods
The legendary village of Ayun in Chitral
On way to Bumburet
Dizg, Yarkhun
About Me
- Zar Alam Khan Razakhel
- Village Dizg, Yarkhun valley, Chitral, Pakistan
- I blog at http://chitraltoday.net (ChitralToday) about Chitral, its people, culture, traditions and issues. I have been writing about Chitral since 2000. Chitral is a scenic valley in the extreme north-west of Pakistan.