TIMERGARA: Jamaat-i-Islami MNA from Swat Aisha Syed on Sunday promised her party would end all kinds of discrimination against women provided it was given a chance to rule.

She was talking to journalists after visiting the Timergara District Jail along with JI women wing members from Lower Dir, Asma Bibi, Zahida Bibi and Rabia Bibi. The JI women team met with prisoners and also distributed Eid gifts and cash among 34 women inmates and their 10 children.

Ms Syed said women constituted a considerable portion of the population and the state should not ignore them. She said the JI women wing was struggling to win rights for women and resolve their grievances. She said establishment of Swat Women University, repair of Chakdara-Kalam road, construction of women training centre at Timergara jail and provision of missing facilities to schools in Dir were because of her efforts.

WATER SUPPLY: Residents of various localities of Talash on Sunday complained that water supply schemes had been nonfunctional for last two weeks due to low voltage and prolonged power outage.

They demanded of the Pesco chief to take notice of the situation. The residents said due to closure of water supply schemes, women were forced to fetch water from distant places. They said worshippers also faced trouble at mosques as they found no water for ablution.

The area elders said despite the government announcement of no loadshedding during sehr and iftar, they had been facing over 18 hours of power outage.

ACTION AGAINST SEMINARIES: MPA Izaz ul Mulk Afkari has said the government agencies were harassing management of religious seminaries in the garb of misuse of loudspeakers and collection of donation for welfare organisations.

Talking to journalists, he said there were thousands of registered religious seminaries working as welfare organisations to provide free education to students. The MPA said those madressahs were being run on people’s donation. He said the government should take strict actions against the seminaries and organisations which were involved in illegal acts. The JI lawmaker said responsible people of religious seminaries and volunteers of welfare organisations were being harassed and arrested for no fault of theirs.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2016