TIMERGARA, Jan 14: Landowners of Maidan, Lower Dir, on Monday refused to sell their land for construction of power grid station, approval for which had already been given.

Dozens of landowners along with elders of Maidan met Lower Dir deputy commissioner Mahmood Aslam Wazir at his office and apprised him of their reservations. Later, they held a demonstration in front of the local press club and chanted slogans against the administration.

Speaking at a press conference, representatives of the landowners belonging to Gall, Suripao and Dam Gatta, alleged that their land at Dam Gatta had been specified for construction of Maidan grid station without their consent.

Representing the landowners, Mohammad Naeem, Sher Hamid, Fazal Mehmood and Gul Shehzada said that they would resist construction of grid station on their land. “We have bought this land for building our houses and will never allow the government to construct grid station on it,” they said and added that the project should be shifted to somewhere else in Maidan.

“Neither any official contacted us in this regard nor we have signed any agreement with the government,” they said and claimed that the administration had now been asking them to sign the land purchase papers.

The elders said that the authorities should use state land for the project.

INTERFAITH HARMONY: Central chief executive of National Commission for Interfaith Harmony and Human Rights Chaudhry Qamar Zaman Randhawa has said that involvement of foreign powers in the killing of innocent people in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not be ruled out.Speaking at a press conference in Timergara Press Club on Monday, he said that international powers had been fanning the flames of sectarian and ethnic violence to divide the nation.

Earlier, Noor Mohammad was elected as Lower Dir district chairman of the commission, Lateef Khan president and Amjad Ali as its general secretary. Mr Randhawa administered oath to the new office-bearers.