H H Prince Karim Agha Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims and world-renowned philanthropist is scheduled to visit Chitral on the 4th Dec.This is his first visit in 16 years to the area where he has over 140,000 followers. Although the Aga Khan Dev Network (AKDN) has been active in the area for the last 20 years spending hundreds of millions of rupees in micro developmental activities but the fact is, and the Aga khan knows it well too, that the pathetic condition of the poor people of the area has not changed for any better- The mother of all problems of Chitral i.e the backbreaking problem of the absence of an all weather road continues to haunt the Chitralis and so long as this problem remains unsolved, improvement in the standard of life and a base for economic development cannot be even thought of. And till such a time the ongoing micro level developmental activities (at macro level expenses) will look like child play, like they are at the moment.
Much hope is being attached to the Agha Khan’s visit, in that he would pledge a big contribution towards the collective socio economic uplift of the people of Chitral.
It is suggested that the Agha khan should announce his contribution/participation in the construction of the Lowari Tunnel and as an immediate step of goodwill he should order the employment of his helicopters to ferry travelers across the Lowari pass once the Lowari road gets blocked, which is due any moment.