Mastung Voters’ Interviews

Muhammad Iqbal
A political activist, said people in Mastung are facing lot of problems. The major problems in Mastung rural and urban localities are the non availability of health and education facilities. He said provision of clean drinking water is a major issue which almost all the people are facing in the district. He said the government has also failed in the provision of facilities in the field of agriculture and live stocks sectors and the hours long load shedding has further aggravated the miseries. He said the basic responsibility of the government is to ensure solution of people problems at grass roots level. He said he would definitely vote a candidate who has the capability to resolve the people problems.

Mir Ahmed
A local of rural village in Mastung, said load shedding is the major problem in the rural areas of the district. He said in villages People do not have access to Electricity for 20 to 24 hours affecting every sphere of life. He said he wanted the people to vote for a candidate who is aware of the people problems at local levels. He said other common problems of the locality are the provision of clean drinking water, health and education facilities. He said during election every candidate makes big promises of resolving the people problems, but people need to look at the past and present of the candidates and his capabilities not the promises he or she is making. He said he would vote for a candidate who he personally know.

Master Saif-ud- Din
A school teacher, said the worst law and order, unemployment, alkc of clean drinking water and dilapidated roads are the major problems in Mastung. He said the poor law and order situation has turned the people mentally sick. He said he wanted the government to focus on the provision of basic facilities including clean drinking water and reducing electricity load shedding. He said during election every candidate made tall promises with the people but once elected never look back to the people miseries. He said in the coming local government elections he would vote for a candidate or party that ensure atleast to solve “one problem’ in Mastung district – it may be providing clean drinking water or ending load shedding. He said he is against voting somebody on the bases of ethnicity, religious sects or tribalism. He said he wanted to vote a person on his personal capability including his education qualification.

Saeed Ahmed
President paramedics association Mastung, said in this modern age the people of Mastung are deprived of basic facilities of life. He said long hours load shedding and low voltage is coupled with thefts and dacoitiese are the common features of daily life. He said he wanted the new local governments to shun the anti-people policies of the previous regimes and take practical steps to resolve people immediate problems. He said people should not vote on the bases of tribalism, ethnicity and religious affiliation but support the candidates who are educationally qualified, who understand the people problems and have guts to resolve these problems.

Maulana Abdul Baqi
A religious scholar, said the major problems faced by the people in Mastung are the absence of health and education facilities. However, he said the biggest problem that needs immediate attention of government is the lack of clean drinking water in both rural and urban areas. He said no doubt the government has constructed water supply schemes in various parts of the district however due to lack of attention most of the water schemes are non functional. He said the hours long load shedding have further aggravated the problems of water provision. He said he would like the government to resolve the problem of clean drinking water issue on priority bases. He said he would prefer to vote the candidate who would address these issues. Additionally, he said he wanted to vote the person who is not a tribal chief and can speak against the prevailing unjust system. He said the tribal system in the area in the major reason of poverty of the people.

Mir Muhammad Malook Khan Shahwani
50, a farmer, said he wants the government to grant tehsil status to KudKoocha area. He said the population of the area has increased manifolds but the government has been ignoring provision of facilities to the people at near to their door steps. He said this is unfortunate that majority of the people in the area cast vote on the bases of tribalism and ethnicity. He said he would vote the people who are capable of solving the problems of the people at grass roots level not necessarily of his tribe.

Sardar Najeebullah Tareen
A political activist, said load shedding of power is the major problem of the area. He said following load shedding the lack of clean drinking water is also a major problem. Both the problems are interlinked. He said he wanted the government to give maximum powers to the local bodies representatives so that problems of the people are addressed at the village level. He expressed dissatisfaction over the way the current government is tackling the people problems. He asked for holding the local elections at the earliest so that people are not forced to visit far away cities to resolution of their minor problems.

Mrs Azad Khan Parkani
41, a housewife and mother of four, said the non provision of natural gas is the major problem. She said the housewives are facing lots of problems while cooking foods. She said, especially, in winter seasons many families migrate to other areas as they have nothing to burn for cooking foods. She said she wanted the government to resolves this problem at the earliest. She said she wanted the women of her village Killi Khwaja Ibrahim to vote for those candidates and parties who ensure gas supply to the village.

Vijay Kumar
29, a businessman, believed worsening law and order is a big problem in the city and rural areas of Mastung. He said four Hindu traders were killed in target killing, while a number of doctors and traders have been kidnapped for ransom. He said due to worst law and order situation people are shifting their families to other safer places. He said during the last five years out of total 150 minorities families, 130 migrated to other provinces and districts from Mastung. He said dacoits and thefts cases are very common here. He wanted the government to resolve the problem of law and order on priority bases. He said he would vote for those candidates who are sincere with the area and are capable of solving problems of the down trodden community. He said those candidates who promised to address the problem of Hindu community will get the votes of minority community.

Muhammad yaqub
Local farmer, said most of the times non locals are elected for various positions from Mastung. He said in the past whosoever got elected from Mastung he/she settled down in Quetta and never come to meet the people and resolve their problems. He said he would request the people to vote for those candidates who are living in Mastung and understand the problems faced by the people in rural and urban areas.

Rajesh Kumar
A minority community member, said lack of clean drinking water is the major problem in the locality of the minority community. He said residents are forced to pitch water from far away water supply schemes. He said he and his community would vote for those candidates who promised to resolve the problem of the minority community and ensure supply of clean drinking water to the residents.

(Interviews by Ghulam Murataza, Khalil Ahmed, Zafar Baloch, Akbar Khan, Ali, Seema Kanwal and Abdullah Zehri)