Rehmat Mehsud
A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarian blamed his party’s provincial government for failing to resolve the chronic potable water issue in Tank, an impoverished district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), fearing waterborne disease could spread because a vast population was forced to drink contaminated water.
A number of residents of the ill-fated constituency of PK-69 Tank complain they were forced to drink unhygienic water and fetch drinking water from far away ponds.
“The water issue of this ill-fated constituency is pending solution for over 50 years now. People and animals drink from the same pond in villages in the district’s peripheries,” Gul Nawaz, who owns a cloth store, said.
Dawar Khan Kundi, member of the National Assembly (MNA) from PTI, said the provincial government had never bothered to resolve issues of southern districts, primarily those of his Tank constituency.
“I personally took up the drinking water issue of my constituency with Imran Khan and told him that I wanted a resolution of this… chronic issue,” Kundi recalled.
The PTI-led provincial government made promises several times to ensure provision of clean potable water to districts of the province.
A number of residents of the district held a protest rally in Peshawar last week and threatened to stage a sit-in in front of the CM’s House if the water problem was not solved within two days.
When contacted, Mahmood Ahmad Khan, member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who represents Tank district, said that he had already got installed two tube-wells to ensure provision of clean drinking water supply to the city.
But Kundi said that he was sure the PTI-led government and the JUI-F were jointly creating hurdles in the resolution of issues of the district.
Nabi Jan, another resident of the district, said that clean drinking water was a distant dream; rather people did not find water inside mosques for ablution.
The district witnessed record surge in population following influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from adjacent South Waziristan tribal region in the backdrop of military operations against insurgents.
Tank is home to Saraiki- and Pashtu-speaking people, and both are supposed to be the permanent residents of Tank, which has now turned into a congested city. Tank district has a strategic importance and the gateway to South Waziristan tribal region.
Tank is surrounded by districts of Lakki Marwat to the northeast, DI Khan to the east and southeast, and South Waziristan tribal region to the southwest, west, and northwest.
“Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has no interest in development work in Tank district. The provincial government is solely responsible for this issue,” Kundi remarked.
Zahid Khan, a senior member of the Awami National Party (ANP), said he wondered how the PTI planed to build a new Pakistan at a time when they (PTI) couldn’t manage to keep old things in order.
“How will the PTI build a new Pakistan when they couldn’t even ensure supply of drinking water to the district, which is a longstanding demand of the people of Tank City?” Khan remarked.
Ikramullah, a college student, said that he pays Rs 1,500 for a single water tanker to get drinking water for his extended family members. He said that officials of the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and public health engineering department didn’t pay any heed to tackle this issue.
“I categorically condemn the provincial government… it is solely responsibility for providing drinking water to the residents. I don’t think the PTI will resolve this water issue in its tenure,” he concluded.
Abdullah Nangial, a social worker in Tank district, blamed religious parties like the JUI-F for the poor infrastructure, saying that they ruled the district for 14 long years but did not pay heed to the problems of the area.
Almost every year, the PTI government allocates a budget in its Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the repair of damaged water supply and sanitation lines, but opposition lawmakers and locals complain that the issue still persists.
“The clean drinking water issue is still a serious one. The voters should reject the PTI and the JUI-F and elect a person with prior commitment to settle the issue,” Nangial noted.
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