KOHAT: The Kohat cantonment board authorities on Tuesday decided to withdraw the increase in rents of shops, which had forced traders to protest.

The decision came at a meeting chaired by deputy commissioner Dr Azamatullah Wazir.

Cantonment board chief executive Zahid Dawar, assistant commissioner Usman Ashraf, additional assistant commissioner Vaqas Khan and president of traders’ union Mansoor Bangash were in attendance.

The cantonment board authorities had sealed several shops a few days ago over the non-payment of rent, which was increased by up to 500 per cent in some cases. The decision had sparked protests by traders, who had urged the deputy commissioner to get the cantonment board to reverse the decision.

The protesting shopkeepers termed the new rents tantamount to their economic murder.

The agreement was reached after lengthy deliberations, following which the traders ended their protest.

The traders insisted that under an agreement the rents were to be increased every three years.

The meeting agreed that rents of shops would be increased by 15 per cent every three years.

Mansoor Bangash said the traders were already hard done by rising cost of electricity, salaries of workers, school fees of their children and home expenses.

FIVE HELD: The police on Tuesday arrested five wholesalers and confiscated hundreds of kites and thousands of meters of chemical string from Kohat city, Ustarzai and Lachi tehsil during a crackdown, which was launched following reports of injuries to people, especially motorcyclists, caused by chemical string.

The district police officer appealed to parents to refrain their children from indulging in the deadly sport.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2024