PESHAWAR, July 26: About 50 supporters of Town-III Nazim Shakirullah Khan on Wednesday attempted to take possession of the building housing the social welfare and women development (SW&WD) department.

The nazim’s men harassed the staff members and used abusive language against women, according to a statement issued by the SW&WD employees.

The staff members called the University Town police and the nazim’s men left the building when they saw the police, it said.

Talking to this correspondent, the nazim said the building on Jamrud Road was property of the agriculture department and the department’s secretary had issued orders to the SW&WD department to vacate the building and hand it over to the Town-III administration.

However, he said, the SW&WD department was reluctant to vacate the office.

Officials of the social welfare directorate said the matter had been taken up with Chief Minister Akram Durrani who had assured Social Welfare Minister Hafiz Hashmat and Population Minister Kashif Azam that he would review the decision of the agriculture department.

They claimed the chief minister had asked the Town-III nazim not to shift his offices to the Jamrud Road building from its present location at the Sports Complex.

ACTION CONDEMNED: Town and tehsil nazims from across the NWFP on Wednesday demanded that the federal, provincial and district governments should end ‘meddling’ in the affairs of town and tehsil councils and implement the Local Government Ordinance in its real sense, adds PPI.