By Dr Zardad Wazir
WANA: Farmers and local elders in South Waziristan have accused the agriculture department of large-scale corruption, alleging that greenhouses meant for growers were sold privately and government tractors had gone missing, and called for a judicial inquiry into the matter.
At a press interaction, a group led by Malik Mumtaz Wazir, councillors’ alliance chairman Ahmad Wazir and Kamal Wazir said multi-million rupee schemes had failed to benefit local cultivators despite agriculture being the backbone of the region’s economy.
They claimed that greenhouse tunnels provided under official projects were not distributed among farmers, while tractors allocated for land levelling had disappeared, raising concerns about the misuse of public assets. The elders also alleged that equipment meant for the Wana agriculture office was being shifted to Darazinda in Balochistan.
When contacted, an official of the department expressed what he described as helplessness and attributed the situation to political pressure, saying a quota for Darazinda was being processed through Wana and that administrative affairs were no longer under the department’s control.
The protesters held the district director of agriculture and local elected representatives responsible for what they called the failure of the plantation campaign during the peak planting season.
They demanded a high-level investigation, recovery of the missing machinery and an end to political interference in the distribution of agricultural resources. The elders warned that if their demands were not met, they would launch a protest and lock government offices.
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