Local govt councillors accuse officials of demanding bribe

CHITRAL: The All Village Nazimeen Forum in Chitral’s Drosh tehsil has asked the government to take action against the assistant director of the Local Government Department for stopping their funds over their refusal to pay him bribe.

Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, the forum’s president Imranul Mulk and other members alleged that Assistant Director Local Government Noorul Wahab and Assistant Engineer Fahim Jalal had stopped tenders of their projects after they refused to give them commission.

They also alleged that these officials had blocked accounts of the Village Councils. They alleged that the officials had demanded Rs10,000 from each Village Council nazim ahead of the arrival of a team from the office of the director general.

They said that the officials had told them that their projects could not be approved unless the commission is paid to the director general and secretary Local Government Department.

The councillors said one of the officials had been claiming that nobody could make him accountable as he had good relationship with the chief minister.

The councillors claimed that their tenders for work had not been approved for the last four months. They regretted that District Council Chitral was also helpless to resolve the issue.

They warned of staging protest outside ruling PTI chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Bani Gala if the issue was not resolved within a week. They demanded transfer of the accused officials from the district and initiation of an inquiry into the issue.