SWAT: The district administration of Swat on Thursday launched a crackdown on permanent and under-construction encroachments along the Swat River, demolishing several illegal structures during the operation.

Acting on the directives of chief secretary, Deputy Commissioner Shehzad Mehboob constituted a committee comprising assistant commissioner of Babuzai, additional assistant commissioner-I, SDO irrigation, TMA officials and local tehsildar.

The committee convened multiple meetings and conducted field visits to identify illegal structures. With the cooperation of law enforcement agencies, all permanent encroachments were demolished in the presence of committee members. According to district administration, the anti-encroachment drive will continue without discrimination.

In a separate development, anti-corruption police arrested sub-registrar of Babuzai, Mohammad Arif, for allegedly transferring valuable land through forged documents in return for bribes.

Acting on a tip-off, anti-corruption officials carried out a raid after verifying the evidence. A case has been registered against Mohammad Arif and his accomplices Ghairat Khan, Iftikhar Ali Shah, Naseem Ahmad, and a woman. They have been taken into custody.

Meanwhile, in a private school in Bara Darshkhela area of Matta, seven students fainted due to hot weather conditions. Rescue personnel responded promptly and shifted the affected students to Matta hospital for treatment. The students were identified as Ilyas, Saad, Abdullah, Hakeemullah, Mohammad Saad, Tayyab and Zeeshan Ali. They were discharged from hospital after treatment.

In another event, the assistant commissioner of Babuzai, Dr Nida Iqbal, held a khuli kutchery at her office to address issues faced by minority community. The forum was attended by district officials, representatives of various departments, and members of minority community.

During the session, community representatives raised multiple individual and collective grievances. Dr Nida Iqbal listened attentively and issued directives to relevant officials for immediate resolution of the issue. She said that members of minority community were respected citizens of Swat and their concerns were treated with due seriousness.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2025