GILGIT, June 9: The officers union of National Bank of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan chapter, has accused the regional management of the bank of giving loans on fake documents and offering job to an official’s son in violation of merit and bank policy.

Abdus Salam, president of the union, in a press release issued on Sunday, said an influential official after getting his son inducted in the bank had admitted him to university for doing MBA. He said the said official’s son was withdrawing salaries from the bank as his name was always shown the register.

“The said officer has accounts in various banks where millions of rupees have been deposited which was taken as commission for issuing loans,” said Mr Salam.

He said whenever someone raised the issue he was transferred to remote stations.

When contacted the regional chief of NBP Chaudhry Mohammad Akram said inquiries had been held into the allegations but no evidence of any wrongdoing on part of the official was found. Akbar Hussain, assistant vice president of the bank, told Dawn that officers’ union president had been harassing managers of the bank. “When he (union’s president) was asked to refrain from such activities he started blackmailing us,” said Mr Akbar.

WATER SHORTAGE: The Gilgit city has been facing acute shortage of water for last five days as a water channel supplying water to the area was damaged by floods in Kargah nullah. In some areas people were purchasing water while some taking it from Hanzel, 20 kilometers west of Gilgit city, in vehicles.

Residents blamed the Wasa employees for creating artificial shortage of water to provoke protests as they had not been paid salaries for three months.

When contacted Wasa officials said the main water channel, which is the only source of water to the whole city, was badly damaged due to flood in the Kargah nullah following snow melting.

They said manpower and machinery had been moved to the site to repair the damaged channel and restore water supply to the city.