MURREE: All Murree union councils’ UCs’ chairmen and vice chairmen on Saturday launched a protest against corruption in government offices.

Out of total eight, seven UCs’ chairmen and vice chairmen won the local government elections on PML-N tickets.

Backed by a large number of supporters and councilors, they gathered at Jika Gali bazaar and raised slogans against the Murree tehsildar, Rana Nayab, and demanded that he should be removed from his office and handed over to the National Accountability Bureau.

A month ago, the thesildar was chairing a meeting in which cheques were being distributed to rain and landslide affected people. In the meeting UCs’ chairmen and vice chairmen and councilors were also invited, but they were not offered proper seats to their annoyance and they boycotted the meeting.

Soon after the meeting, the local government representatives launched a protest and demanded immediate transfer of the tehsildar from Murree.

After a protest sit-in at Murree for one day the UC chairmen met provincial Labour and Human Resource Minister Raja Ishfaq Sarwar, who is elected MPA from Murree, and demanded the transfer of tehsildar Murree.

The UC chairmen told local journalists that the minister had assured them that the tehsildar would be transferred in 48 hours, but he was still there even after 15 days.

When this correspondent asked the tehsildar, Rana Nayab, he said that there were clear instructions from the government that UCs chairmen should not be involved in scrutinising applications seeking compensation for the rain damages.

He said they were adamant to include the names of their choice, which he resisted, providing an opportunity to them to start a campaign against him.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2016