MANSEHRA: The All Primary Teachers Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday announced the formation of a 10-member committee to take up the issues of teachers, including the denial of post upgradation, with authorities and political parties.

“Our jirga will meet the chief minister and heads of political parties, including members of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement, over the problems of the teaching community,” APTA provincial president Azizullah Khan told a meeting in Naran area here.

The participants included the district presidents and general secretaries of the association from all 34 districts of the province as well as provincial office-bearers.

They warned if authorities didn’t address the issues, they would stage a strike across the province and move the Peshawar High Court.

Form committee to take up issues with authorities

“The last PTI-led government in the province had finalised formalities to upgrade the post of primary teachers from BPS-15 to BPS-16 but the caretakers scrapped the entire process and didn’t make budgetary allocations for it,” provincial general secretary of the association Meraj Ali Shah said.

He said primary teachers didn’t want to take to the streets for the resolution of their issues and therefore, they decided to form a jirga to take up the matter with authorities.

APTA Mansehra president Attiqur Rehman said if the upgradation and other issues weren’t resolved by caretakers, the teachers would be left with no option but to stage street protests,” he said.

KILLED: The police on Friday arrested a man for killing his wife and dumping her body in the forest of Jabori Kaiyain area here.

Tahzeem Bibi was shot dead by Mohammad Riasat in his farmland near Jabori Kaiyain forests as she took her lunch, a police statement quoted SHO of the Shinkiari police station as saying.

The SHO said the accused dumped the body in the dense bushes and fled.

The locals reported the incident to the police, who shifted the body to the Shinkiari civil hospital. The body was handed over to the family after doctors completed medico-legal formalities.

The accused was arrested and is being interrogated about the murder, the police said.

Meanwhile, the police arrested a man for killing his wife in Sandysar area here.

The police said Tahir Khan shot his wife down over a money dispute.

Meanwhile, six tourists suffered injuries as a jeep fell into a ravine along the Saiful Muluk Road here.

The locals shifted the injured to the basic health unit, whose doctors referred them to the Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad due to serious wounds.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2023