LAHORE, Aug 11: Data Ganj Bakhsh Town Nazim Khwaja Ahmad Hassaan and Naib Nazim Mian Usman on Wednesday tendered resignations from their offices alleging victimization due to political intolerance of the government but restrained their supporter councillors from following suit "for saving the town from imminent dissolution."

Mian Usman submitted his resignation from the office of Naib Nazim to Nazim Hassaan who accepted it and informed the chief and Punjab election commissioners and secretaries of Punjab Election Authority and local government accordingly.

Nazim Hassaan dispatched his resignation to the chief minister and forwarded its copies to the Chief Election Commissioner, local government secretary and district coordination officer.

All the town officers were summoned to the district Nazim's office in the morning and detained there throughout the day to prevent Mr Hassaan from addressing them.

Explaining reasons for his resignation at a press conference at the Lahore Press Club in the presence of Mian Usman, union council Nazims, Naib Nazims and hundreds of councillors in the afternoon, Mr Hassaan said he had been forced to resign by the government after refusing to switch loyalties and joining the ruling party.

He had also been warned of 'facing the consequences' on refusing to become a turncoat and all the town officers were directed not to obey him and his deputy despite the Supreme Court's verdict in his favour to compel them to quit.

He said he had not accepted the offer for joining the ruling party on the ground that the local government elections had been held on non-political basis and he and Mian Usman had contested the election from the non-political Democratic Group platform after resigning from their parties. The powers that be retaliated by sowing seeds of discord in the council and succeeded in adoption of a no confidence motion against him last year.

Mr Hassaan said 13 union council Nazims, 18 town and more than 300 union councillors had handed over their resignations to him but he had stopped them from quitting as it would result in dissolution of the town and transfer of the charge to the DCO or the local government secretary.

He said the performance of his town had been commended by the Punjab Local Government Commission as well as the National Reconstruction Bureau and it was declared a model town by the World Bank Review Mission but he and his deputy had been forced to quit merely on account of intolerance of political dissent.

A no-trust motion had been brought against Mr Usman for returning the second no-confidence motion brought against him last month in the light of the advice of the town legal adviser.

He said he had managed the town affairs with consensus with the result that Bhally Butt, who had contested the election for town Nazim against him, was sitting with him.

He said he had restrained his supporters from resigning because it would strengthen the hands of those out to turn the town into a political battlefield and sabotage the local government system.

Mian Usman said the dictatorial forces had made it impossible for the people's representatives to discharge their duties. He alleged that district Nazim Mian Amer had executed the plan to destabilize the town.

He had directed all the town officers to report at the Nadir Hall of his office early in the morning and detained them there throughout the day to prevent Mr Hassaan to bid farewell to them.