SWABI: Swabi Qaumi Mahaz (SQM) and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP) are set to announce merger after the settlement of all major bilateral issues.

Sources said the two Swabi-based parties would hold the final round of talks on the matter within two weeks.

They said the formal announcement about the merger would be made during a news conference in Peshawar.

SQM was established by entrepreneur family of Shahram Khan Tarakai two years ago, while AJIP was formed by late Dr Mohammad Saleem in April 1999.

Mr Saleem was father of current MPA and SQM Chairman Babar Khan.

Analysts said the merger would be a big boost for AJIP, which was planning to spread its wings to Charsadda and Buner districts besides eyeing the district nazim slot through the local body elections.The AJIP has a MNA and five members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

When contacted, SQM General Secretary Liaquat Yousufzai said parleys between the two parties for merger were on the right track.

`We will make a formal announcement about the merger very soon, he said.

FARMERS WELCOME RAIN: Local farmers on Wednesday welcomed the first winter rain saying it will have a very positive impact on the yield of various crops, especially wheat cultivated in various parts of the district.

They said the prolonged drought had a bad impact on crops growing in infertile land measuring around 116,736 kanals.

Major part of the barren land is in Chota Lahor, followed by Yar Hussain, Maneri belt, Jalsai and Jalbai. The farmers said after the rainfall, they had begun giving fertiliser to crops.

HIRING OF WORKERS: The talks between Grievances Redressal Committee (GRC) of Tarbela Dam and officials of Topi and Ghazi tehsils` administrations over the hiring of workers for the Tarbela Dam Fourth Extension Project didn`t take place on Monday and Tuesday due to the unavailability of Wapda and Tarbela Dam officials.The GRC had demanded preference for locals during the hiring of workers for the project.

However, the two sides agreed to discuss the previous worker hiring mechanism before coming up with a better mechanism.

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner of Topi tehsil Mohammad Ali said he didn`t know why the talks were delayed.

`It depends on Tarbela Dam and Wapda authorities when the negotiations should take place,` he said.

Meanwhile, the project victims and local residents protested a week ago against the alleged award of jobs on political grounds, saying most jobs went to the people from the two ruling parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.Tarbela Dam General Manager Hazrat Umar told Dawn that the assistant commissioner of Topi tehsil, assistant commissioner of Ghazi tehsil and members of GRC would sit together to review the present worker hiring mechanism.

He said the project was funded by the World Bank, which had recommended that the local government be consulted before its execution but as the district government was not in place, local MNAs and MPAs had been kept in the loop as the people`s representatives.