Non-release of fund: RG reps threaten to stage protest

MANSEHRA: The chairmen of village and neighbourhood councils on Sunday warned the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of street protests if it failed to release development funds across the province.

“The government has recently released funds to only 51 tehsil councils across the province, where Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairmen were elected in the local government elections held three years ago,” Basharat Ali Swati, the general secretary of Local Bodies Ittehad, told reporters here.

Flanked by other office-bearers of the Ittehad, he said a meeting of village and neighbourhood councils was held in Mansehra.

The meeting decided to launch street protests if the provincial government did not release funds to 4,211 villages and neighbourhood councils across the province.

“The government has discriminated against tehsil chairmen from other political parties, as 80 tehsil councils are still deprived of these funds,” Swati added.

He explained that the meeting, attended by chairmen of village and neighbourhood councils from various parts of the district, decided on the agitation plan if development funds were not released.

“We are in constant contact with our provincial body in Peshawar, which is scheduled to meet today (Monday) to finalise our future course of action,” Swati said.