KOHAT: The dissident members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl have formed a forward bloc in the district council against the JUI-F’s district nazim, Maulana Niaz Mohammad.

The steering force behind the bloc is stated to be PML-N’s former senator Abbas Afridi and his brother MPA Amjad Afridi.

Addressing a press conference at Azeem Bagh here, Amjad Afridi said that so far they had been able to get the support of 11 councillors from the PTI and JUI-F who had joined the bloc and agreed to support a no-confidence move against the district nazim. He said that two more lady councillors, from PTI, had also promised to join the bloc.

Plan to support no trust move against district nazim

The dissidents told media persons that they had not left PTI, but joined hands with the PML-N-led group to remove the district nazim who had been neglecting them in the distribution of funds.

Meanwhile, the district nazim suspended his party’s coalition with PML-N in the tehsil council and announced that the JUI-F councillors would sit on the opposition benches there.

The district nazim is from JUI-F and tehsil nazim from PML-N and the agreement in this regard was struck between the two parties at the time of the formation of the two governments.

Now a tussle is going on between the Afridi brothers and a new coalition between the PTI and JUI-F for getting the upper hand in the district council.

The district nazim told this scribe on Sunday that they might bring a no-confidence against tehsil nazim Malik Taimoor if the Afridi brothers did not refrain from de-seating him and forming forward bloc.

He said that the PTI and JUI-F alliance was backed by the district leadership of both the parties. He advised the Afridi brothers to stop purchasing loyalties of the councillors.

PARAMEDICS SALARIES: MPA Ziaullah Bangash has summoned a meeting at the deputy commissioner’s office to find out a solution of the issue concerning payment of six-month outstanding salaries of the newly-appointed paramedics.

The MPA met with the paramedics, led by their president Rashid Bokahri, on Sunday and urged them to avoid boycotting the polio duty. The meeting, to be held on Monday (today), would be attended by the deputy commissioner, district health officer and representatives of the paramedics.

Mr Bokahri told this scribe that if the salaries were not paid to the paramedics they would go on strike from Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2017