PESHAWAR, Jan 31: A local industrialist has accused the Town- III Nazim of demanding bribe to allow the construction of his plaza. Speaking at a news conference here the other day , Qabil Sher alleged that he had got the design of his under-construction plaza approved from the local government department and the City Development and Municipal Department (CDMD) on Dec 12, 2002.

He said that Yasin Khalil, Nazim of the Town-III, served a notice on him on Jan 19, 2004, asking him either to stop the construction of the building or pay him Rs1.5million as a bribe.

According to rules, he said, the Nazim should have served the notice within 40 days of the construction, but the notice was served after more than one year.

"I was called by the Nazim to his private office on Jan 26, where he kept me in illegal confinement for two hours."