LOWER DIR: The residents and pensioners of Munda area here on Friday staged a demonstration in front of the local branch of National Bank against the decision to shift it to Madyan area of Swat, and demanded of the high-ups to reverse the decision.

They said shifting the NBP’s Munda branch would create difficulties for the account holders.

Branch manager Mohammad Daud told Dawn on contact that the bank authorities had issued a notification regarding the branch’s shifting to Swat as it had been suffering continuous losses since 2017. However, he said the branch had been in profit for the last three months. The manager said they received millions of rupees as remittances from abroad.

Meanwhile, residents of Talash area have complained that despite the approval of the higher authorities, National Database and Registration Authority’s office in Ziarat Talash was yet to be made functional.

Talking to reporters on Friday, they said that the applicants had to visit Nadra offices in Gulabad or Timergara to get their computerised national identity cards and Form-B of their children. They demanded of the authorities concerned to start services at the Talash Nadra office to ease their suffering.

AMENDMENT: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-Parliamentarian leader and former provincial finance minister Muzaffar Syed Advocate has said the 26th Constitutional Amendment will help strengthen the parliament.

Talking to reporters here, he said that PTI-P fully supported the passage of the amendments. He lauded the role of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sahrif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in the passage of the amendment.

He said that the passage of the amendment was not possible without the support of the JUI-F chief.

Meanwhile, the Lower Dir police on Friday distributed free helmets among motorcyclists in Timergara on the directives of district police officer Salim Abbas Kulachi.

Traffic in-charge Khan Nazar distributed the helmets.

Talking to journalists, Mr Nazar said that most of youth were killed in road accidents because they did not use helmets. He said that the helmets prevented the riders from head injury. He asked all the bikers to use helmets.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024