KHAR: A senior local leader of PML-N, Nawabzada Mohammad Anis Khan, quit the party here on Tuesday as protest against the senior leadership for ignoring the tribal areas in development projects and announced to join PPP.

Mr Anis is also a relative of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Shahabuddin Khan and remained associated with the party for over a decade. He made the announcement while talking to mediapersons at his residence in Inayat Kallay town.

He said that he had attached great expectations to PML-N to give special attention to the tribal areas when it came into power in 2013 general elections, but its central leadership ignored the tribal areas in development schemes.

Mr Anis also castigated PML-N leader Amir Muqam for not visiting any tribal agency during the past four and a half years. Local PPP workers welcomed him in the party.

POLIO DRIVE POSTPONED: Polio volunteers in Bajaur Agency on Tuesday criticised the health department for sudden postponement of the anti-polio campaign, which was to start in the agency from Feb 12, and appealed to the authorities to give them wages for the drive.

According to the field officer, Dr Abdur Rahman, the drive has been postponed in Malakand division till further orders due to security reasons.

Talking to mediapersons here, scores of volunteers from remote areas said that the local health department did not inform them on time about the postponement of the anti-polio drive. They said that most of them knew about the postponement when they visited the office of agency surgeon.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2018