KHAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s senior vice-president for Bajaur Agency on Tuesday resigned from the post in protest against not being awarded the party ticket for the National Assembly seat in the region.

Talking to reporters here, Mohammad Saleem Khan said he had been working on the post of senior vice-president since May 8, 2017, adding the move to quit the post was to protest the party leadership’s decision not to award him the poll ticket.

Mr Khan said almost all the workers were sure that he would easily get the party ticket for NA-41, but the central leadership in general and the parliamentary board in particular ignored his efforts by not awarding ticket to him.

The move to ignore a senior and committed activist like me in award of party tickets has shocked me, and resigning from the post is the best way to express my anger against this ‘injustice and wrong decision,” said the PTI leader. However, he said he would stay associated with PTI.

To a question, he said distribution of party tickets among the hopefuls in Bajaur was not according to merit and the party’s policy to give the tickets to those who had the ability to win polls.

However, he said he would support the party’s candidates in the elections.

Meanwhile, sources in the PTI local chapter told Dawn that scores of party workers, especially senior activists, were not happy over the distribution of tickets on both the National Assembly constituencies.

The sources said majority of workers wanted award of party ticket on NA-41 to Mohammad Saleem or Anwar Zeb Khan as both had strong position in the region.

SCHOOL OPENS: Pak Army’s Sector Commander North, Brigadier Amir Kiani, has said the security forces are making efforts to promote education in the hilly and remote parts of the region by establishing modern educational institutions there.

He stated this while speaking at the opening ceremony of a newly-constructed middle school in Charmang area of Nawagai tehsil the other day.

The school situated along the Pak-Afghan border has been constructed by 29 Baloch Regiment.

Brig Kiani said the security forces were committed to promoting education in the region as education was vital for socioeconomic development and durable peace in the region.

He expressed the hope that a large number of students of the region would avail modern education facilities at the school.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2018