RAWALPINDI, Oct 29: The naib nazim of Potohar Town was on Wednesday voted out in a no-confidence move for politicising the council elected on non-political basis and failing to convene the meeting of the house for two consecutive months.

The ousted Naib Nazim, Chaudhry Mazhar Mehmood, however, in his speech in the council said all charges levelled against him were baseless and he was being voted out just because he did not take side with the town nazim in the February 18 general elections.

Senior presiding officer Masood Akhtar Bhatti, naib nazim UC 85 Dhamial, chaired the meeting for the voting through secrete balloting. Thirty-six votes were polled in the house of 52 members out of whom 35 supported the no-confidence movement.

At the outset, Chaudhry Mehmood made a hue and cry to stop the balloting and said his car had been stopped at the gate of the council premises and he was not allowed to enter the hall. He said he wanted to respond to the charges levelled against him and, therefore, he should be heard.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mehmood accused the town nazim of bringing the no-confidence move against him because he had not voted for his brother Nasir Raja in the general elections. He said all the charges against him were baseless.

The presiding officer stopped the naib nazim from speaking further and started the balloting and later announced the result in the council hall. He asked the town municipal officer to write to the election commission about the result and announce the schedule for the election of the new town convener.

The town nazim thanked the house for voting out a man who was elected unopposed in December last year, when then naib nazim was voted out. But instead of running the house smoothly, he started playing politics after the change of the provincial government.

The nazim said the ousted convener had filed a petition with the Lahore High Court to stop the no-confidence voting against him but he had been removed before the court took up the matter.—Our Reporter