MINGORA, May 19: The Swat district government on Monday admonished government officials for being absent from meetings of the district council and threatened to transfer them if they did not regularise their attendance.

Speaking at the meeting of the district council at the Jirga Hall here, district Nazim Dr Mehboobur Rehman said that the disinterest shown by heads of various government departments tantamount to negligence of duties and would no longer be tolerated.

Criticizing legislators for increasing political interference, he said that members of the provincial assembly and the National Assembly should avoid interfering in the affairs of the local government, adding that they could be sent behind bars for such transgressions.

The district Nazim urged the council members to spend the district government funds judiciously, saying that funds should not be squandered on observing protocol. in the Swat and not on giving protocols to the people. He said that the members of the local government were also elected representatives and had the same right like that of the MNAs and MPAs.

Earlier, Nazims of different union councils of the district told the district Nazim about the problems of their respective areas.