www.chitraltimes.com

LAPH holds workshop on Human Rights

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: In an experience sharing workshop of Legal Aid Project for Human Rights (LAPH) and Regional Women Empowerment Project (RWEP) of AKRSP held here on Tuesday, the active role of human rights monitoring committees (HRMCs) was highly appreciated as basic watchdog bodies of human rights. Chairman of LAPH, Niaz Ali Shah, project manager of RWEP, Imtiaz Ahmed, gender programme officer of Trocaire Islamabad, Rabia Waqar and the representatives of 47 HRMCs of LAPH. The activities of the communities were described at length and the need was underlined to extend it to every small village level. It was told that the committees had done a commendable job in pinpointing the issues of human rights violations as and when they cropped up. Sharing the social survey report about rising tendency of suicide among the women folk in Chitral, project manager of RWEP, Imtiaz Ahmed enumerated the root causes of the extreme step taken by the weaker sex. Mr. Ahmed also shared both the short and long term measures propounded in the report to address the issue which has turned into social problem. Meanwhile, an awareness workshop was held by LAPH at Yarkhoon valley about ‘the situation of women rights in Chitral’. Those who spoke on the occasion included chairman Niaz Ali Shah, monitoring and evaluation officer Bibi Fozia, former union nazim of Yarkhoon Muhammad Wazir Khan, a local academician Bulbul Hussain and others. Women folk from the valley participated in the workshop in large number.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Action sought against illegal bus stands of Peshawar

By Our Correspondent

CHITRAL: The passengers reaching here from Peshawar have complained of the unauthorized bus stands in Peshawar city which, they alleged, are not only fleecing the passengers but also make the vehicles depart for Chitral in night time. Talking to chitraltimes.com here on Tuesday, one Muhammad Wazir from Koghuzi village alleged that in connivance of city police, the number of illegal bus stands for Chitral is multiplying in Chitral day by day. He said that the stand-runners charge fares exorbitantly and have chosen evening time for the departure of the flying coaches for Chitral which put the lives of the passengers at risk. Another passenger Zaman Khan said that the vehicles pass through the Malakand and Dir area late in the mid night and an ugly incident looms large over the passengers due to the presence of terrorists in the area. He said that in the long drive of more than twelve hours the vehicles are driven by only one driver and the possibility of accident exists there because the drivers often snooze. He said that the passengers in the front seat constantly awake the drivers when they feel dizzy. He said that a number of horrible traffic accidents of Chitral-bound vehicles have occurred during the night time. He recalled that all the eighteen persons on board the vehicle died two years ago at Malakand top in the late hours of night. The passengers demanded of concerned authorities to take stern action against the owners of the illegal bus stands to rid the passengers of their excesses.