PESHAWAR, Dec 9: NWFP Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Sardar Muhammad Idrees has directed the district authorities of Abbottabad to take effective steps regarding the ongoing anti-corruption week. He said officials of all the government departments, right from the district level down to the village level, were accountable to the public.

In separate meetings with district and tehsil officials, he made it clear that the anti-corruption week was being observed to uproot bribery and other malpractices from government offices. He expressed the hope that the drive would be a success and its impact would be felt in all strata of the society.

Sardar Idrees said that all the ministers and other officials of the MMA government had been directed to take note of the grievances of the people and to serve the masses in their offices, residences and mosques. Even Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani had issued directives in this regard.He acknowledged that like the rest of the country, the NWFP also faced the curse of corruption. It was a good omen that red-tapism had largely been dealt with. However, he said, the menace remained at the lower levels and public complaints usually surfaced in this regard.—PPI