BAJAUR: Workers and supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) staged a protest demonstration in the Lowi Mamond tehsil of Bajaur district on Sunday, calling for the immediate release of the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan and other incarcerated leaders.
The protest, held in Laghari Bazaar, was organised on the call of PTI’s provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan and witnessed significant participation from party loyalists, many waving PTI flags and holding up portraits of Imran Khan. The demonstrators chanted slogans condemning the federal government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), for what they termed as “unjust imprisonment” of the party founder for nearly two years.
Addressing the crowd, former district president and Nawagai tehsil council chairman Dr Khalilur Rehman, along with Sajjad Bangash, Luqman Khan, Swat Khan, Burhan Khan and other local leaders, demanded the federal government release PTI’s top leadership from what they called “illegal detention.”
Speakers also urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to refrain from passing the controversial Mines and Minerals Act, 2025, arguing that the legislation was not in the best interest of the people of the province.
The leadership thanked the workers for turning out in large numbers despite recent weather-related difficulties in the region.
Meanwhile, residents of the staff quarters at the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar have raised alarm over the stagnant rainwater that has been accumulating for over three weeks due to a damaged drainage system. The stagnant water, left unaddressed by the hospital administration, has entered residential quarters, raising concerns over public health and sanitation.
Shahid Khan, a hospital employee residing in one of the quarters, said the area had once been equipped with an adequate drainage system, but recent structural damage to the main drain had rendered it useless.
“This is the worst we’ve seen it. There is no way for water to escape, and it’s been sitting here since the last rain,” said Khan.
Another resident, Javid Khan, noted that the absence of drainage had created severe problems for the lower staff, most of whom are non-local employees living with their families. “The situation worsened after the latest rain spell. Water entered many of the homes and remains stagnant, becoming a breeding ground for disease,” he said.
Residents criticised the hospital administration for ignoring repeated complaints and demanded that the district administration intervene immediately to restore the drainage system and ensure their safety.
