MINGORA, Dec 23: The trade unions of Swat, Shangla and Buner districts have decided to observe a strike on Dec 31 against the shifting of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) offices from Mingora to Chakdra.

Speaking at a joint press conference at the Swat Press Club here on Monday, representatives of the Swat Traders Federation, All Swat Hotels Association, All Government Employees Coordination Council, All Swat Transport Federation and leaders of political parties said that they would launch a movement against the shifting of the BISE offices.

They said that people had given their mandate to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, but the alliance failed to resolve the matter.

They said that the provincial governor was not ready to reverse the decision, adding that they would have to observe a shut-down strike to force the government to resolve this issue.

They also criticized the senior minister, Sirajul Haq, saying that he had assured them that the decision would be withdrawn, but failed to keep his promise.

The traders organizations held the provincial governor, Swat district Nazim Dr Mehboobur Rehman and the BISE chairman responsible for the current situation.

They said that the previous governments always treated the people of Swat as the second-rate citizens and closed down the Swat airport, shifted the general post office to Batkhela and the National Bank head office to Mardan.