CHITRAL: The Divisional Commissioner Malakand Division Riaz Khan Mehsud during his extensive official stay in Chitral has kindled hope in the hearts of the Corona beaten Chitralis, by making optimistic but rather challenging promises.

The first promise which he made in Bumburet that a road of the standard of Islamabad roads would be built between Chitral town and Bumburet is very difficult to digest. Even the Lowari pass road and internal main roads of Chitral which are more important than the Kalash valley road, despite taking years of having seen such high flying promises by even heads of state and governments are still in shambles and can hardly be called decent roads, let alone be Capital standard roads. With such a background one can only take the promise of the Commissioner with a pinch of salt.

The other powerful promise the Commissioner made was while addressing the Chamber of Commerce in Chitral in which he said that sec 144 has been imposed and timber logging of all kinds is completely banned in the division. This claim again should be seen keeping in view past promises made by even more powerful representatives of various governments on the issue but most of the time sooner than later such orders have gone into the pantry and business as usual has resumed with fresh vigour in the deforestation sector.

We must admit that mafias in Pakistan are too strong to be bridled by the government. Whether it be the sugar mafia, the wheat mafia, the electricity mafia, the traders mafia, the timber mafia, the religious mafia, even the Unions mafia in every state organisation, you name it and they have proven stronger than the government over time.

Until and unless the system is changed and a Presidential system followed eventually by a Meritocracy system is put in place, the country will continue to bleed, no matter who comes and who goes.  .. CN report, 26 June 2020