MANSEHRA: After a long time, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has appointed former tehsil nazim of Balakot Junaid Ali Q asim its district president and activist Waseem Hassan Swati general secretary in Mansehra.

`The leadership has reposed confidence in me by appointing me as the district president. I will work hard to take its message to the grassroots level,` Qasim told reporters.

According to a news release from the PML-N, federal minister for religious affairs Sardar Mohammad Yusuf, former MNA retired Captain Mohammad Safdar and former minister Syed Q asim Ali Shah formed a 20-member committee that unanimously chose Junaid Ali Qasim as the district president and Waseem Hassan Swati the general secretary.

Following electoral setbacks, especially after the defeat of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in NA-15, the PML-N had announced plans to mobilise its supporters and reclaim electoral strength in the region.

MPA FLAYED: Tehsil council chairman Nawabzada Hassam on Thursday criticised Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf MPA from Oghi Akramullah Ghazi for allegedly altering development schemes worth Rs260 million which were proposed by the former PTI lawmaker and approved by the previous government.

`This is unjust Mr Ghazi has changed almost all development schemes that were approved by the previous government and could have been implemented during the current PTI tenure,` Mr Hassam told a council session in Oghi.

He alleged that MPA Ghazi not only modified the schemes approved by former MPA Nawabzada Fareed but also relocated them to other areas, thereby depriving certain localities of their rightful share in development.

Village and neighbourhood council chairman Shahid Salman alleged favoritism in the distribution of Rs50 million released by the chief minister for development work. `The tehsil chairman has favoured certain members and ignored others in allocating these funds,` he claimed, demanding a fair and unbiased distribution of all development resources.

Mr Hassam rejected the allegations and expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for releasing funds.

He said Rs50 million allocated for development in Oghi would be spent impartially across the entire tehsil.