NOWSHERA: The Working Folks Grammar Schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be closed down if the federal government didn’t immediately release funds for payment of salaries to the staff and meeting other expenses.

The concern was expressed by Mohammad Iqbal, the provincial president of Muttahida Labour Federation, while addressing a meeting of workers here on Friday.

He said the employees of Workers Welfare Board (WWB), which runs the schools, would stage protest demonstrations if the Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar didn’t release the necessary funds.

Mr Iqbal claimed that the federal government owed Rs2 billion to the WWB, as a result the board had failed to provide scholarships, death grant and dowry funds to the workers for the last two years.

He alleged the federal government spent the WWB funds collected from poor workers on other projects.

He threatened that the government should release the funds before October 30, otherwise workers from across Pakistan would gather outside the Parliament House in Islamabad to protest its apathy.

‘N’ LEADERS THREATEN PROTEST: Local PML-N leaders have announced to stage a rally in Islamabad to protest against the ‘apathetic’ attitude of the party’s senior leaders.

Talking to media persons here the other day, they said while they were finding it difficult to counter the PTI in the district, the party’s central leadership had completely ignored the die-hard workers in Nowshera.

They alleged a group controlled PML-N affairs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that the central leadership focused attention on the Hazara region and Punjab while ignoring the sincere workers from other parts of the country.

The local PML-N leaders said they had held meetings with the central leadership, including Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, KP’s provincial president Pir Sabir Shah, general secretary Rehmat Salam Khattak and others, but they failed to address their concerns.

They demanded of the party to hold intra-party elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that a sincere leadership could emerge in the province.

Former candidate from NA-6 Zulfiqar Bacha, member of district council Mohammad Ayub, Tahir Yousafzai, Rashid Qureshi, and others spoke to the reporters.

SECURITY BEEFED UP: Nowshera police have beefed up checking of vehicles and pedestrians as part of the security arrangements for Ashura. Sources said the police had prepared a security plan to secure the Ashura processions in the district.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2015

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