KOHAT: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader from PK-81, Daud Afridi, has criticised the local lawmakers for their poor performance during the past nine years, saying they would be unable to go to the people in 2023 elections.

He was addressing a big jirga of party workers here. Mr Afridi said Kohat was an oil- and gas-producing area, but despite that the promises made by the lawmakers about provision of gas to all union councils, establishment of oil refinery, construction of hospitals and allotment of Jarma state land to residents could not be fulfilled.

He claimed that the local PTI lawmakers were sitting idle whereas royalty funds were being diverted to Nowshera, Swat and Peshawar. He added that not a penny of the funds had been spent in Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Daud Afridi vowed that they were with the prime minister in these critical times, but not with the lawmakers who had not started a single mega project in two terms.

He pointed out that MNA Shehryar Afridi had made a commitment twice that two oil refineries would be constructed in Kohat, but ironically the one which had been approved by the government was moved to Karak.

SASTA BAZAARS: Deputy commissioner Roshan Mehsud said here on Friday that four Ramazan sasta bazaars would be established in the city, Lachi and Dara Adamkhel.

Briefing mediapersons at his office, he said that traders and concerned officials had been taken into confidence to ensure provision of quality food items at low prices to the people.

Meanwhile, social organisations at a joint meeting here on Friday expressed no-confidence over constitution of the dispute resolution council (DRC) with excess members.

Sada-i-Kohat chairman Dilawar Awan, Kohat welfare organisation president Habib Shah and others said that under the law there was a room for 21 members in the DRC, but it consisted of 37 members mostly appointed on a political basis.

They asked the DIG, Kohat division, and DPO to appoint qualified and prudent people as members of the DRC.

FIRE INCIDENT: A fire broke out at the hilly track in Gulshanabad mountains near the wildlife park here on Friday. Rescue 122 sources said the cause of fire could not be known, but it was put out within one hour.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2022