SWABI: The Khidmat-i-Mazooran Tanzeem (KMT) and Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB), district chapter, on Saturday demanded of the authorities to shift the social welfare department office back to the district headquarters, Swabi.

Fazal Dad, KMT general secretary, and Sher Nabi, PAB district president, while speaking at a joint meeting, said the two unions represented thousands of special people and the blind who were concerned at the shifting of the social welfare office, a few days ago, to

Gulu Dheri near the Swabi Women University from the Link Road area in the district headquarters. The old office was easily approachable for the physically challenged persons, they said.

Fazal Dad said if anyone wanted to reach the new office they had to catch public transport from the general bus stand to Gulu Dher, and from there hire a taxi because on public transport didn’t plied on the Gulu Dheri-University Road. “It costs over Rs100 to reach the new office,” he added, which he said, the special people could not afford.

Sher Nabi said it was very difficult for the blinds to reach the new office, adding anyone wanting to reach there had to pay the double fare because each blind person needed a helper.

Masood Jabar, QWP district chief, had also taken up the issue with the provincial Senior Minister for Social Welfare, Special Education and Women Empowerment Sikandar Sherpao. Sources said the minister had assured him of solving the matter amicably.

CELEBRATIONS: Mufti Kifayatullah, provincial naib emir of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F, on Saturday said his party would celebrate its centenary celebrations from April 7 to 9 at Azakhel.

Addressing a meeting, he said international religious scholars would be invited to a public meeting to be held on the occasion. He said the JUI-F would try to gather the leaders of political and religious parties on one platform as there was dire need of political unity to tackle the menace of terrorism currently sweeping the country.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2017