LONDON: Mr David Ennals, Britain’s Minister for Commonwealth Immigrants, today [Feb 20] intervened in the dispute over Bolton Municipal Corporation’s decision to ban the use of a private house as a mosque by more than 1,000 Pakistani and other Muslims residing in the Lancashire town.

For several months Bolton Muslims have been using a private house in a residential district as a mosque and as a religious school for Muslim children. Friday prayers as well as Sunday classes to teach the Holy Quran and Urdu have been held in this house.

The Bolton Municipal Corporation banned the use of the private house for prayers and teaching Muslim children on the grounds that local residents complained against noise and “spitting in the streets” by visiting Muslims. The Bolton Muslims thereupon appealed to Mr Ennals to intervene and he is now carrying on an on-the-spot inquiry.

[Meanwhile, as reported by our correspondent in Karachi,] the Central Government has asked for a report on the labour unrest in Karachi.

The Central Labour Adviser, Mr Akbar Karim, who was in Karachi on a fact-finding mission, told “Dawn” yesterday that he had completed the study and was going back to Rawalpindi to submit the report without delay.

During his stay the Labour Adviser met officials of the Karachi Port Trust, the Karachi Electric Corporation, the Security Printing Press, Banks etc and had detailed discussions on various aspects of the problem.

He said the Government was all for strong and independent trade unions — essential for the smooth working of the industry.

Unless the workers had what was commonly known as possessive sense, the industry could not prosper, he however observed.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2017