GILGIT, April 13: Over 250 earthquake victims in Astore valley stage a sit-in on Saturday in front of the Northern Areas Civil Secretariat to press for their demands.
Wearing black bands on their arms, they also besieged the secretariat for four hours to protest against what they said delaying tactics employed by the government to rehabilitate the victims.
Maulana Abdus Sami, who led protesters, told newsmen that they were living at their agricultural patches in makeshift camps and thus were unable to cultivate their lands.
He said they were neither being provided alternative sources of food nor did any arrangements were made for their rehabilitation, which had disappointed them.
The protesters also deplored that Federal Health Minister Naseer Khan did not visit Astore valley to see for himself the squalid conditions at refugee camps.
They demanded of the Northern Areas Administration to provide crown lands for their per-manent rehabilitation as they could not brave harsh economic conditions.
COP MANHANDLED: Some drivers following the exchange of hot words thrashed a traffic police official here on Friday in Danyore.
Police said that Shimshad Hussain, a traffic inspector, was reportedly manhandled by some drivers when they were warned against plying their unregistered vehicles on Hunza-Nagar routes.
Owners and drivers of the unregistered vehicles were already unhappy over the local administration’s decision to ban customs duty unpaid vehicles from carrying passengers in the Northern Areas.
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