TIMERGARA, July 10: Dissident leaders of Awami National Party, Lower Dir chapter, on Tuesday formed an independent group and announced to field its own candidates on all four seats of the provincial assembly and one seat of national assembly during the next election.

The group led by ANP former MPA Haji Bahadar Khan held a meeting at Gosam Munda which was attended by more than 200 dissident workers from all constituencies of Lower Dir.

The group announced that it would contest the next general election under the name ‘ANP Constitutional Group’.

The ANP leaders Qazi Azizul Haq, Haji Bahadar Khan, Ahmad Zeb Khan, Nadar Khan, Shah Murad Khan, Amir Zada, Hayat Khan and others addressed the meeting. They alleged that the ANP leadership badly failed to satisfy diehard workers in the district.

“The ANP leadership has been engaged in trade instead of serving the interests of Pakhtuns,” said Haji Bahadar Khan, adding decades-old party workers had now stood against the party leadership.

The group also announced its own organisations in Jandol sub-division and its union councils. Nadar Khan was elected as president and Shah Murad Khan as general secretary for Jandol sub-division while Amir Zada was nominated president for Munda union council and Haji Murad Khan president for Khazana union council, respectively.

Haji Bahadar Khan was elected as head of the ANP Constitutional Group in Lower Dir.

STRIKE ENDED: The All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA), Lower Dir chapter, called off its pen down strike after a reconciliatory body settled a dispute between district revenue officer (DOR) Fazal Karim and Zahir Shah, brother of PPP lawmaker Mohammad Zamin Khan the other day.

Talking to journalists president of APCA, Lower Dir, Mohammad Shaier Tajak, said a high level reconciliatory body held several rounds of talks and succeeded in settling the dispute between the PPP leader and former district naib nazim Zahir Shah and DOR Fazal Karim.

The clerks’ community had observed complete pen down strike against political interference and manhandling of government officials.

PROTEST: The traders’ community of Chakdara has demanded of the government to allow at least 50 tonnes weight to be passed on Chakdara Bridge.

Speaking at a news conference at the Chakdara Press Club, president of Anjuman-i-Tajaran Chakdara Khawaja Faizul Ghafoor and others complained that concerned authorities had decreased the weight again from 40 to 20 tonnes to be passed on the bridge. They said despite the lapse of more than two years the damaged Chakdara bridge was not reconstructed while traders had been forced to load and unload on both sides of the bridge.