PeopleSpeak.

Byline: Amjad Iqbal

'I belong to a small village in Mardan. I came to Taxila nine years ago along with my parents in search of a better future and eke out a living.

After doing my matriculation from a government school I could not continue education due to limited financial resources of my family. I did many odd jobs - from a construction labourer to a helper with truck drivers for many years. I saved money and purchased a boat to operate in the Khanpur Dam for tourists who visited the place for picnic. But soon I had to sell the boat as the local boat contractors always created hurdles for outsiders who operated boats and also because it was a profit earning business only in the summer when tourists flocked the lake...