MANSEHRA: The provincial government has formally created five more tehsils and upgraded another to a subdivision in upper parts of Hazara division.

Adviser to the chief minister Zargul Khan told reporters here on Wednesday that the government had notified Suo and Urban Basha as tehsils of the Upper Kohistan district, Ranovali Pinkhad the Lower Kohistan district’s and Battar Kolai the Palas district’s and Dormerra Torghar district’s, while Kundai had been declared the Upper Kohistan district’s subdivision.

He said the newly-notified tehsils and subdivision would soon get the required staff members.

Govt awards status of subdivision to another tehsil

“We (PTI government) believe in empowering the people through bifurcation of large districts and tehsils and these four tehsils and a subdivision have been created in line with that thought,” he said.

Mr Zargul, who is also the PTI president for Hazara division, said his party’s government was committed to developing the highly-backward Kohistan region.

He said Kohistan was divided into districts and tehsils for the development of its neglected areas.

DETACHED: The Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench on Wednesday struck down the recent attachment of two neighbourhood councils of Mansehra with the NA-14, Mansehra, constituency and ordered the reattachment of Potha and Ogra with the NA-13, Mansehra, constituency.

Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Syed Arshad Ali issued the orders after completing hearing into a petition of PML-N leader Jamil Ahmad Awan.

The two neighbourhood councils were made part of the NA-14 during the recent constituency delimitations in the country.

The petitioner said the Election Commission of Pakistan had earlier disposed of his petition against the removal of those councils from his native constituency, NA-13.

AGITATION WARNED: The nazims of village and neighbourhood councils in Mansehra district have warned that they along with councillors will agitate after a week if the finance department doesn’t release the withheld non-development funds for 17 districts, including Mansehra.

The warning was issued during a meeting of the Nazmeen Ittehad with its president Mohammad Fareed in the chair.

Mr Fareed said the finance department had released non-development funds to village and neighbourhood councils in nine districts but ironically, those funds weren’t given to such bodies in 17 districts.

“The finance department has forced us into spending our development funds on salaries, rents, utilities and other non-development affairs and thus, adversely affecting development process in 194 village and neighbourhood councils of Mansehra district,” he said.

FOOD PACKETS: The Mehar Welfare Trust, a nongovernment organisation, on Wednesday gave away food packets to 50 deserving families here.

The NGO works for the welfare of kidney patients in the district.

District councillor Ambreen Swati, who was present on the occasion, appreciated the initiative and said the NGO would distribute Ramazan packets to deserving families in remote parts of the district as well.

She said the local government should follow suit to the benefit of deserving families.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2018