LOWER DIR: Residents of Khandaro, Khaima and Balambat areas here have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to release funds for construction of the Timergara-Khandaro Bridge over the Panjkora River. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, they said that the government had approved Rs620 million for the project in 2019. They said that initially Rs20 million were released, which were spent on carrying out survey and levelling of surface. However, they said the contractor stopped work afterwards as no funds were released. The residents said that people of Kandaro crossed the river through a rickety chairlift, putting their lives in danger. They said the construction of the bridge would ease traffic flow on the main Timergara-Bajaur Road. Jamiat Lawyers’ Forum (JLF) on Tuesday hosted a dinner in honour of former provincial minister for finance Muzafar Said Advocate, who recently joined Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl. JLF members and JUI-F workers were in attendance. JUI-F district chief Sirajuddin, and other leaders, including Maulana Mohammad Huzaifa, Maulana Nabi Shah and Mr Said, spoke on the occasion. The former minister expressed his full confidence in the leadership of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and said that he was the ‘leader of the entire Muslim Ummah’. He said that he along with his supporters would participate in the JUI-F-proposed ‘Israel Murdabad’ conference to be held in Peshawar on Dec 8. The speakers said the JUI-F conference would set a new direction of regional politics. They condemned the Islamic countries’ rulers for keeping silence on the situation in Gaza. The speakers asked the party workers to participate in the JUI-F conference. Meanwhile, JUI-F provincial deputy chief Maulana Abdul Haseeb Haqqani told reporters in Timergara that thousands of party workers would participate in the conference. He said the party had finalised reparations it. He said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, provincial chief Maulana Attaur Rehman and other leaders would address the moot.