PESHAWAR: Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Sohail Afridi is set to attend a scheduled protest in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, on April 25. For the journey, the CM has paid a staggering Rs. 840,000 for a helicopter ride.
According to Shafi Jan, the Special Assistant to the CM for Information, the Chief Minister will fly to Muzaffarabad through a helicopter to take part in the street movement organized on the said date. In addition, the spokesperson revealed that the CM has borne all costs related to the helicopter ride out of his party’s money, thereby avoiding any involvement of public funds in political matters.
In addition, he noted that the KP CM will remain true to the values of transparency and accountability, as was always envisioned by the founding chairman. According to him, the founding chairman had always viewed public funds as a sacred trust, and he never failed to handle them in a responsible manner.
It may be recalled that there have been instances of misuse of government resources for political motives lately. Nonetheless, the KP government has made it clear that all costs associated with the travel have been met from private resources.
Locals express resentment over PTI performance in Mohmand
Meanwhile, the people of Pindialai Tehsil of Mohmand District have registered a strong protest against the serious problems and administrative failures faced in their area and demanded PTI leadership to fulfill their promises made with people of the area.
The residents of the area say that the lack of basic facilities and continuous negligence on the part of the elected representatives have made their lives miserable for a long time. According to public complaints, the performance of the MNAs and MPAs is very disappointing, who were sent to the houses with a huge mandate, but they have not been seen active in the area to solve public problems since the elections. The people complain that the huge amounts released in the name of development funds, especially the beautification program, have allegedly been lost in corruption and their fruits are nowhere to be seen on the ground.
The residents of the area have also expressed deep concern over the poor condition of the health and education sectors. The shortage of teachers in government schools and the unavailability of basic medicines and staff in hospitals have put the local population in serious difficulties.
Apart from this, the public has also expressed strong reservations about a project of national importance like Mohmand Dam. The citizens allege that the rights of the local people are being exploited in this project and that the market for bribery is hot instead of merit in providing jobs, which is increasing frustration and anxiety among the youth of the area.
The people of Pandialai have demanded that the authorities take immediate notice of these serious problems. They demanded that an impartial investigation be conducted into the misappropriation of development funds allocated for the area, especially in the name of beautification, and that transparency be ensured in the recruitment process at Mohmand Dam. The public has warned the government that if the negligence of elected representatives and administrative corruption was not stopped, these deprivations can lead to further public protests in the area.
