BAJAUR: Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf workers on Sunday staged a protest demonstration here to demand immediate release of the party`s founding chairman Imran Khan and other jailed leaders.

A large number of party activists and supporters participated in the protest held in the Laghari Bazaar of Lowi Mamond tehsil. The protest was staged on the call of the party`s provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan.

The charged workers, some of whom holding party flags and photos of Imran Khan, chanted slogans, demanding the immediate release of all the jailed leaders.

They also chanted slogans against the PML-N-led federal government for keeping the party founder in the jail for about two years `without any reason`.

PTI former district president and Nawagai tehsil council chairman Dr Khalilur Rehman, Sajjad Bangash, Lugman Khan, Swat Khan, Burhan Khan and others addressed the gathering.

The speakers said that the protest was meant to push the federal government to releaseImran Khan and other leaders from the `illegal detention` They also asked the provincial government not to pass the controversial Mines and Minerals Act, 2025 from the provincial legislature `in the best public interest`.

The speakers thanked the party workers for their active participation in the demonstration.

FAULTY DRAINAGE: Absence of a proper drainage system has left rainwater stagnant for weeks in the staff quarters of the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar,troubling residents.

`This public locality, generally known for employees` quarters, was equipped with a good drainage system, but it has been out of order for about three weeks after it developed significant damage in the main drain,` said Shahid Khan, a hospital employee residing in one of quarters with his family.

He alleged that he had never experienced such a dire situation in the area before.

Javid Khan, another employee, said that the damaged underground drainage system had severely impactedresidents` lives, as rainwater had been accumulating in the area for weeks with no means of clearance.

The residents told Dawn that the situation worsened significantly during the recent spells of heavy rains as water had entered most of the quarters.

They claimed that the prolonged accumulation of the rainwater had not only made their lives miserable but it too posed a risk of multiple diseases in the area.

They also accused the management of the hospital of not taking steps to resolve the issue.

Residents of the locality, comprising over 30 residential quarters for lower staff of the hospital, mostly non-locals, demanded of the district administration to address the problem urgently.

When contacted, a senior official of the hospital told Dawn that an immediate and durable solution had been ordered, starting with clearing the rainwater causing problems for residents.

He claimed that work on repair of the drainage pipe would likely to begin within two days. Correspondent