CHITRAL: The local traders threatened here on Thursday to go on strike if the newly posted assistant commissioner was not transferred within a week.

They demanded of the chief secretary to order inquiry against the assistant commissioner for imposing heavy fines on them and sending them behind bars without citing any section of the relevant law.

Addressing a press conference, Tajjar Union Chitral president Shabbir Ahmed Khan said that after assuming his office 10 days ago, Assistant Commissioner Saqlain Saleem was imposing heavy fines on them without any fault of them.

Flanked by other office-bearers of the association including Siraj Ahmed, Kifayatullah, Haji Sher Hakim and others, he said that no section of law was mentioned for imposing fine on them.

He said that traders suffered financial losses during the first wave of Covid-19.

The traders said that they would go on strike for indefinite time if the officer was not transferred within a week.

MEETING: The youth of Baroghil valley in a meeting formed an organisation to preserve and promote their language Wakhi.

Safar Mohammad Tajik was elected president, Taj Ali Baig general secretary and Isa Khanas patron of the organisation in the meeting. AnjumanTaraqi-i-Khowar president Shahzada Tanvirul Mulk supervised the process.

Shahzada Tanvirul Mulk said on the occasion that Wakhi was one of the 13 languages spoken in Chitral. He said that a national conference of linguists would be convened to standardised script of the language.

PRESS CLUB POLLS: In the elections of Chitral Press Club, Zahiruddin (Daily Dawn) was elected president while Saifur Rahman Aziz (Samaa TV) senior vice president. Mian Asif Ali Shah Kakakhel (PTV) was elected vice-president of the press club in the polls.

The other office-bearers included Abdul Ghafar (daily Jihad) general secretary, Syed Nazir Hussain Shah (Mashriq TV) office secretary and Noor Afzal Khan (Daily Aaj) finance secretary.

The elections were supervised and conducted by a three-member committee consisting of Muhkamuddin, Shahriyar Baig and Shah Murad Baig.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2021