Known to be highly conservative, the people of Kohistan have begun to enjoy getting little benefits of the natural resources, water and precious minerals found in abundance in the district.

The word Kohistan, means mountain, itself portrays nature as almost 80 per cent of land in this backward region is stretched over high mountains enriched with treasures of wildlife, forests, mines, water, tourism and delicious sea food of cold water.

Kohistan is housing over 9,000 megawatts hydropower projects and leading in 50-year water vision of government but despite having such huge potential the life of a common man couldn’t be changed as yet.

The life of common Kohistanis couldn’t be changed even after the area was given the status of a district from a tehsil of Mansehra in 1976 by the then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

The Chromites mines alone are stretched over an area of five kilometres in Dijal area and same is the case of Paradot, the precious stone which is unique due to its crystallite, colours and beauty across the world.

The feasibility of over 24,000 megawatts hydropower projects has also been completed which gives this district an edge over other districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The forests, which were plundered at a great extent in the past, are such resources which alone can change fate of people living below the poverty line.

Kohistan is also natural habitat of exotic Tragopan and Monal pheasants and its high mountainous forests are also abode of rare species of black and brown bears and snow leopard.

The valleys of Kandia, Suppat and Palas are no doubt paradise on earth but inaccessible and still off from eyes of view-catchers and couldn’t be explored.

Work on 130 megawatts Dubair Khawar hydropower and 13 megawatts Ranolia hydropower project was completed some three years ago. Both the dams are linked with national grid but people of Kohistan even Dasu, the district headquarters of district, are still without electricity.

Work on 4,330 megawatts Dasu hydropower project, which was inaugurated by Prime Minster Mian Nawaz Sharif in mid 2014, and 4,500 megawatts Diamer-Bhasha dam is also in progress.

Literacy rate in this ‘neglected’ district is less than 20 per cent while female literacy rate is not even three per cent.

“Our women are killed in the name of honour to settle scores or enmities and this is happening because of low literacy rate,” said a resident of the district, on condition of anonymity.

He said that Kohistan was ranked first among the districts in honour-related killings every year and most of cases were not reported.

The people of this region are highly conservative and still living in traditional slum houses in mountains or along the banks of the Indus Rive as 80 per cent area in district is mountainous.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has divided Kohistan into two districts, lower and upper in 2014 but people of Pales tehsil challenged the decision in Peshawar High Court. The case is still under trail.

According to district administration, the total population of district is not more than 1,000,000. The literacy rate of the people aged 10 years and above is 11 per cent -- male 17.23 per cent and female 2.9 per cent. Kohistan’s literacy rate is one the lowest in country.

“We are known as rigid but it is absolutely not. We are progressives as what one can do when he is not given even basic rights. We are moderates and know how to take our rights,” said PML-N lawmaker Abdul Sattar Khan.

He said that one could understand the patriotism and intelligence of people of Kohistan who didn’t allow terrorists to put their foot on their soil and used it for their activities.

“Kohistanis are highly sensible and patriotic Pakistanis but they want rights, which are denied to them by both federal and provincial government since creation of the country in 1947,” said Mr Khan.

He said that people of Kohistan had given their lands, even graves of their forefathers, for hydropower projects but they were still without health facilities. “Work on over 9,000 megawatts hydropower projects is in progress and feasibility work of another 24,000 megawatts hydropower project has been completed but it is unfortunate to say that we have not a single degree college in the entire district,” said Mr Khan.

The local lawmaker said that government was yet to lay foundation of district headquarters hospital as Kohistan was given status of district some four decades ago. He said that there was no social sector in their district and when they come on roads to demand their basic rights, they were termed rigid.

“Our people demands fulfillments of agreements signed by Wapda at the time of launching of hydropower projects in the district with locals. When rights are given, no rigid stance can prevail,” he said.

Mr Khan said that government had imposed Section 4 to acquire land for ongoing hydropower projects but didn’t pay prices to the landowners.

“The government is following a dual standard in acquiring land for hydropower projects as people of Gilgit-Baltistan are given much higher prices than us,” said Mr Khan.

Sarzameen Khan, another lawmaker of PML-N from Kohistan, has been leading protesters, who forcibly got Dubair Khawar hydropower project shut after storming its powerhouse in early December 2015.

“We are being ignored by successive governments since the country came into being. Our district is a symbol of deprivations and backwardness. Who will give rights to people of his district to pull them out of current state of mind,” he questioned.

Mr Sarzameen said that the district too had a great importance for Pak-China Economic Corridor. The government should also give rights to Kohistanis as it had given to residents of other parts of country, he added.

Raja Fazal-i-Khaliq, the deputy commissioner of Kohistan, said that mega hydropower projects underway in district might change centuries-old lifestyle and culture of Kohistanis.

“I don’t agree with the perception about Kohistanis that they are against development in the area. In fact these people are polite and have vision to understand the point of view of others,” said Mr Khaliq.

He said that they would have to wait and develop the area if they wanted to change the centuries-old culture and lifestyle of Kohistanis.

The deputy commissioner said jirga system in Kohistan was having roots in public and all sort of issues were settled through it.

“Prime Minster Mian Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak are keen in promoting tourism in Kandia and other valleys. Time is not far when natural beauty of this backward district would attract tourists,” he added.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2016