MANSEHRA: The Hazara divisional administration has served notices on more than 1,400 Afghan families living in two refugee camps here asking them to leave the region or return by Dec 15.

`We are in the process of demolishing the Sheikhabad and Ichrian Afghan refugee camps as they come in the way of the motorway being built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project and therefore, we`ve asked over 1,400 Afghan families living there to shift anywhere else or return before midDecember this year,` district administrator (Afghan refugees) Naeem Shahzad told reporters here on Wednesday.

The relocation of refugees had come under discussion during a meeting in Abbottabad on Nov 2.

With Hazara commissioner Akbar Khan in the chair, the meeting had decided that Afghan refugee camps in the region would be demolished before Dec 15 as no foreigner was allowed to live within five kilometers radius of the sites of the projects being undertaken under the CPEC project.

`We have been issuing notices toAfghan refugees asking them to either shift to Khaki camp or go back ahead of the Dec 31 deadline,` Mr Shahzad said.

He said the deadline for voluntarily staying of Afghan refugees in the country would end at the end of the current year and therefore, refugees should avail themselves of the UNHCR package and go back without delay.

STRIKE CALL GIVEN: The Young Doctors Association has given a call for token strike at government health f acilities in Mansehra district over the thrashing of a doctor by a medical technician at Lassan Nawab Rural Health Centre.

`We, the doctors, will observe a token strike for one hour daily at outpatient departments across Mansehra district against attack on our colleague. If the attacker is not arrested soon, we will widen the scope of our strike to other districts,` vice president of the Young Doctors Association Dr Umar Farooq told a news conference at the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital here on Wednesday.

Dr Farooq said young doctors would check patients in emergency and indoor wards even during token strike but if the suspect was not arrested, then they won`t check patients at OPD fulltime.