MANSEHRA: The paramedical association has warned that its members will boycott vaccination and other duties here if they’re not promoted and given due payments within a week.

“The promotion of over 4,000 paramedics has been overdue for years, so if the government doesn’t formally promote them within a week, we will go on a strike and boycott polio and Covid-19 vaccination duties across the district,” president of the paramedical association Khalid Khan told reporters after a meeting here on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by paramedics from across the district.

The participants unanimously passed a resolution demanding the immediate issuance of promotion orders for paramedics.

Mr Khalid complained that over 200 paramedics given Covid-19 vaccination duty across the district didn’t get financial or other incentives.

Also complain about overdue promotions

He also said the health department delayed payments to paramedics for polio vaccination duties.

“If the dues aren’t cleared within a week, we [paramedics] will boycott vaccination drives,” he said.

PML-N NOMINATIONS: The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will name its candidates for the upcoming second phase of the local body elections in the district next week.

“Many political parties have approached us for electoral alliances but the final decision about it will be taken by our party leadership,” PML-N leader Sardar Zahoor told reporters here on Tuesday.

He said the PML-N could win most tehsil chairman slots in Mansehra district on its own but was still considering seat adjustments with other members of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement.

“We [PML-N] will field candidates on general and seats reserved for women, youth, peasant and minorities in all 194 villages and neighbourhood councils,” he said.

Mr Zahoor said the people rejected the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the first phase of the LG elections over high inflation and unemployment rates and would repeat the same in the next phase.

“Mansehra and other parts of Hazara division are our strongholds, so we will sweep elections to form tehsil governments in almost all seven districts,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2022