Employees of Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) are concerned over their future after establishment of KP Tourism Authority (KPTA) that replaces the TCKP that they apprehend may also send home in the name of retrenchment Currently, TCKP comprises of 48 employees, including Managing Director (MD), General Manager, managers and other staff. They have been working in the corporation since 1999, with Amjad Ali Khan as MD. He had also served as Chief Secretary of the KP province. Azam Khan, one of its secretaries had also served as KP Chief Secretary and now he is Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the draft bill of the authority, the employees of TCKP would be interviewed by a special panel, which after review of their performance, will decide whether to retain them or not. That makes future of their jobs uncertain and they fearing that scenario they are demanding regularisation of their services citing their two-decade experience. They argue they also deserve/ qualify for pension and other retiring benefits of the government employees. Their majority was hired from private sector on the basis of their experience and services in the field of tourism in the province.
Incumbent MD of TCKP Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has a vast experience in promotion of tourism in the province while General Manager Mohammad Ali Syed was a pioneer in promoting tourism in KP. Prior to this job, he was running his tourism club and was organising tourism related activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He had once spearheaded opening of the historic Balahisar Fort in 1990s and succeeded in the opening of the fort for tourists. Talking to this scribe, an employee said on condition of anonymity that during decades-long employment, they had organised events at different tourist spots even during the critical phase of unabated terrorism.
The employees cited the events such as Jashne Kalam, Jashne Naran, Haripur-Khanpur Festival, Hunar Mela at Peshawar, Galiyat and Shandur Polo festivals, Train Safari and other events which they organised when terror attacks had been intensified.
For the first time in the history of the province, these employees organised international wrestling events which attracted the legendary wrestler Anoki of Japan to visit the KP province.
Similarly, they also organised International Mountain Bike Race, Tour De Naran Cycle Race and other events. They referred that PTI-led KP government had also appreciated performance of the corporation.
The employees say that former Secretary Tourism, Gohar Zaman after their briefing to him, had agreed to the proposal of regularisation of their jobs and adjustments in the proposed authority. But, the newly-posted secretary is not ready to accept their demand.