MANSEHRA: Scores of people took to the streets in Naran area on Monday demanding the arrest of gunmen for attacking tenants in Soach area of Kaghan valley earlier this month.

The protesters marched on different roads holding placards and shouting slogans for the early punishment of culprits.

“If those, who fired gunshots at tenants, are not arrested by Aug 7, we will hold a demonstration outside the premier’s Banigala mansion,” elder Inayat Rehman told protesters.

He alleged that PTI MPA from Balakot, Ahmad Hussain Shah, backed gunmen.

“We want the gunmen punished and FIR innocent people quashed,” he said.

Another speaker, Mohammad Fareed, said the residents won’t allow anyone to take the law into their hands and open fire on innocent people.

“If suspected gunmen aren’t held, we will stage a sit-in outside PM Imran Khan’s Banigala mansion,” he warned.

A group of people had torched huts owned by former minister Shujah Salim Khan over construction on a piece of land, which the former had bought from the latter’s nephews.

BUDGET PASSED: The Balakot tehsil council on Monday approved the Rs286 million tax-free budget for the current financial year.

Presenting the budget in the council, which met with convener Liaqat Khassan in the chair, tehsil nazim Ibrahim Shah said major chunk of the allocations would go to development projects, while Rs54 million had been earmarked for the employees’ salary and other non-development expenses.

He said the tehsil would generate Rs220 million from own sources, including taxes, while the provincial government would release Rs170 million as its share in the provincial Finance Commission Award.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2019