TIMERGARA: Differences have surfaced in the local chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf after a strong group led by former district president Bashir Khan on Tuesday rejected the intra-party elections in Lower Dir.

More than 400 PTI workers had elected Ali Shah Mishwani as the district president during a meeting the other day. Sources privy to the meeting told Dawn that scores of workers had objected the election terming it unconstitutional, illegal and partial.

On Tuesday, another meeting of PTI workers was held at the hujra of Bashir Khan in Gumbir village which was attended by more than 500 party workers who rejected the intra-party elections.

The speakers alleged that some party workers wished to pave way for getting party tickets for coming polls.

They said internal rifts among the PTI workers had inflicted huge loss on the party in Dir and that was why it was being confronted with frequent defeats in the district.

The speakers said party’s district and tehsil cabinets would be elected through workers’ consensus. Sources in the party said it was difficult to bring the disunited workers back on a single platform.

“The party has been divided in groups in the district,” said a PTI worker, adding the leadership had kept silence on the matter.

OPEN KUTCHERI: Deputy commissioner Sarmad Saleem Akram has asked the heads of government departments to improve service delivery.

He was speaking at an open kutcheri held in Chakdara the other day.

On the occasion, Adenzai elders complained about traffic mess at Chakdara, illegal parking, inflated electricity bills, shortage of clean drinking water and inadequate healthcare facilities at hospitals.

The deputy commissioner issued directives to the officials concerned for resolution of some of the problems on the spot. He directed the hospital staff to treat the patients politely. He said Pesco had no right to occupy local people’s land for erecting electricity poles without their permission.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2018