District council session descends into chaos

Opposition Leader said the nazim wanted to embezzle Rs4.3 million which was allocated for the constituency

CHARSADDA: After a district council session was postponed at the eleventh hour Thursday night, opposition councillors protested in the Assembly Hall on Friday. They accused the treasury councillors of corruption, including the nazim.

Opposition Leader Qasim Muhammad Zai lashed out at nazim Fahad Riaz, who did not attend the session, and accused him of large-scale corruption.

He said the nazim wanted to embezzle Rs4.3 million which was allocated for the constituency. He complained the opposition also presented a no-trust motion against the nazim but Riaz was not sacked and was still enjoying discretionary powers.

Zia accused the district government of selling 25 sacks of wheat seeds under the Insaf Food Security Programme in the open market. He went on to accuse the government of embezzling Rs225 million in tenders floated by the health department.

Members from the opposition benches then erupted in a protest against the nazim for failing to distribute funds evenly in the constituency. They submitted a requisition to the DC to hold a council meeting on November 30.

They criticised Riaz and PTI leadership for failing to constitute standing committees and for carrying out corruption in the Insaf Food Security Programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th,  2015.