Dispute between Kolai-Palas, Battagram: Panel to submit report over ownership of valley soon, says official

MANSEHRA: The commission constituted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to determine the ownership of the disputed Chorr valley between the tribes of Kolai-Palas (Kohistan) and Battagram districts would submit its report to the chief minister soon, an official said on Tuesday.

“We have finished our task in the deputed territory and soon submit our report to the commissioners of Hazara and Malakand divisions and they would hand it over to Chief Minister Mahmood Khan,” Shahjahan Khan, the deputy commissioner of Kolai-Palas, told reporters.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had constituted a commission in 2018 to determine the ownership of the disputed Chorr valley. The dwellers of Kolai-Palas and Allai, a tehsil of Battagram, had been claiming the ownership of the valley since long.

Shahjahan Khan, who visited the disputed Chorr valley along with the Assistant Commissioner Allai Noor Muhammad Khan, said that it was an unmanned summer meadows and stretched over a wide area.

“Our seven-day long journey was on foot and the stakeholders from both sides provided us with an opportunity to work independently and without any pressure,” said the deputy commissioner.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Nawaz Khan of Allai and former MPA, Maulana Asmatullah of Kolai-Palas, who are leading the tribes, have expressed satisfaction over the visit of the commission.