MANSEHRA: The police on Thursday arrested a man who allegedly posted sacrilegious content on social media.

“We have arrested an accused under the blasphemy law and started investigation,” Iftikhar Khan, the sub-inspector, told reporters.

A group of people lodged the FIR with the city police, stating that an accused who belonged to the city area had posted sacrilegious content on social media.

“We have lodged an FIR against the accused under sections 295a and 298a by the order of the district police officer, Shafiullah Khan Gandapur, and arrested him from his residence,” he said.

Mr Khan said that following the arrest of the accused, the team, which also collected the evidence, had started investigation. “The police have also seized the record for forensic analysis,” Mr Khan added.

FUNDS SOUGHT FOR LOCAL GOVTS: The Pakistan Muslim League (N) on Thursday demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to empower and release development funds to local governments or wrap this system.

“This system has become a financial liability on the government and a headache for its members as successive governments during the last three years neither accepted its members as the public representatives, nor released development funds,” Babu Ashraf, the district information secretary of PML-N, told a presser here.

Flanked by other officer-bearers, he said that his party’s chairmen Sheikh Mohammad Shafee, Sardar Shah Khan, and Ibrahim Shah from Mansehra, Baffa-Pakhal and Balakot tehsils respectively and around 100 village and neighbourhood councils had jointly demanded of the government to release development funds and devolve administrative powers to them under LG Act 2013 or else do away with this system.

“The chairmen of tehsils, village and neighbourhood councils and local government’s employees at their offices have been receiving around Rs2 billion in salaries annually, while sitting idle at their offices,” Babu Ashraf said.

“We have 4200 village and neighbourhood councils across the province and their employees and chairmen were receiving huge amounts under non-developmental budget annually,” Mr Ashraf said.

“Without funds and administrative powers to local governments, a huge amount under non-development expenditure is being wasted,” he added.

Published in Dawn, Aug 1st, 2025