MANSEHRA: A local court on Thursday cancelled warrants for the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader retired Captain Safdar Awan and his brother and MNA, Mohammad Sajjad Awan, in a land dispute case.

Warrants for their younger brother, Tahir Awan, continued to be valid due to his failure to show up in the court of judge Arbab Sohail.

The judge directed Safdar and Sajjad, and their rivals, including former Supreme Court judge Ijaz Afzal Khan, his brother and a son, to attend the next hearing fixed for Jan 8.

The PML-N leader appeared before the court along with his brother, Sajjad.

Shahnawaz Iqbal, counsel for retired justice Ijaz Afzal and his family, told reporters that Safdar and his brothers began illegal construction work on a 65 kanals piece of shamlat (community land) and when his clients tried to stop it, MNA Sajjad got an FIR registered against them here early this year.

The lawmaker insisted in the FIR that the guards of former judge Ijaz Afzal, his son Saif Ali Khan and brother Sajjad Afzal Khan opened fire at him during the construction of the boundary wall of a10 kanals piece of land, which was owned by his brother, Mohammad Safdar.

The local police registered the case of that firing incident only on the orders of the National Assembly standing committee on law. However, the district bar association unanimously passed a resolution demanding the quashing of FIR against the former Supreme Court judge.

After attending the hearing, Mr Safdar addressed party workers at the Khatm-i-Nabuwat Chowk.

He said the people voted against the ruling PTI in the first phase of LG polls over its anti-country policies and would do so in the second phase as well.

ENCROACHMENTS: The tehsil administration on Thursday launched an anti-encroachment campaign in Balakot and its suburbs and removed illegal structures both temporary and concrete.

Assistant commissioner Saddam Hussain told reporters that the exercise was meant to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic. He said a crackdown would also be launched on sewage disposal in the Kunhar River to prevent pollution.

PTI MEETING: Members of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s union and tehsil cabinets on Thursdaydecided to support the local body election candidates named by the regional governing body. The decision was made during a consultative meeting held here with PTI district general secretary Taimur Saleem Swati in the chair.

“Anyone of us can move our regional body for election nominations but once the names are finalised by the former, we will have to work for the nominees’ success,” Taimur told participants.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2021