LAKKI MARWAT: Members of the Bannu District Bar Association demonstrated on Saturday against the authorities’ failure to construct a new building for the bar.

The lawyers led by the association’s president Noorzada Khan Ahmadzai took out a rally from the judicial complex and converged at the Kuctchery Chowk in Bannu city.

On the occasion, Mr Noorzada, Sainan Durrani, Umarzad Shah, Bakht Niaz Khan, Hidayatullah Khan and others said the old building of the bar had been declared dangerous in 2011, but the lawyers were forced to use it.

They said despite assurances the district administration had failed to demolish the building and construct new one.

The bar leaders made clear that the authorities would be responsible in case the building collapsed and caused any human loss.

They also asked the local administration to renovate the Kuctchery Chowk and improve security for lawyers. They demanded reconstruction of main entrance to the bar room and installation of CCTV cameras in its vicinity.

JIRGA: A jirga on Saturday asked the government to take notice of excessive electricity loadshedding and shortage of wheat flour in North Waziristan district.

Eng Fayyaz Dawar chaired the meeting.

The tribal chiefs hailed the posting of Rehan Gul Khattak as deputy commissioner of North Waziristan and hoped he would work for welfare of tribesmen.

They asserted that the tribal people were not terrorists rather they were patriotic citizens and always rendered sacrifices for their motherland. They said excessive power outages had added to people’s troubles.

The elders asked the local administration to increase the quota of subsidised wheat flour and improve its quality.

FACTORY SEALED: The district administration on Saturday sealed a spice factory and arrested its owner in Bannu city.

Deputy commissioner Aun Haidar Gondal had taken notice of complaints about production of low quality spices and asked assistant commissioner Syed Abrar Ali Shah to take action.

Mr Abrar visited shops and spice factories and checked the quality and production process of spices.

At a factory, he caught red-handed the factory owner while mixing non-food colours and other unhealthy items with spices. He sealed the factory and got the man arrested.

The official also seized several bags of adulterated spices and later discarded the commodity.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2023