September 12, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 11, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, Sept 11: An elder of the Kukikhel tribe and four other people sustained injuries during a kidnapping attempt in Jamrud on Thursday, sources said.

Malik Gulishah along with his guards and driver was going to Peshawar when his car was ambushed by some gunmen near the Ghareza turn outside the Jamrud bazaar. Mr Gulshah’s guards retaliated to the firing.

During the exchange of fire, guards Gauhar Khan, Nasir Shah and Salim and driver Said Rehman received bullet injuries. The tribal elder also received injuries to his face due to smashing of the car’s windscreen.

The attempt was second of its type as activists of the Lashkar-i-Islam had tried unsuccessfully to kidnap Malik Gulshah early this year near Shah Kas.

However, Gulishah and his family have not yet charged anyone with the kidnapping attempt and the Jamrud political administration registered a case against unidentified people.

Meanwhile, the local administration has failed to find any clue to the kidnapping of another tribal elder and businessman, Aqal Jan, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint a week ago by some gunmen in the Shah Kas area of Jamrud.

HEROIN SEIZED: Law-enforcement agencies foiled an attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of fine quality heroin on Wednesday evening, officials said.

Acting on a tip-off, the Mehsood Scouts stopped a vehicle coming from the Orakzai Agency near Shinkar in the Bara tehsil and recovered 1,013kg of heroin from its hidden cavities.

On Thursday, activists of the Lashkar-i-Islam seized 13kg of heroin from a pickup at the Nari Baba checkpoint in the Bara tehsil. They took the driver into custody and seized the vehicle.

The drugs had been smuggled from the remote Tirah valley to Bara for transportation to other parts of the country.

GIRLS’ SCHOOL: The Fata Education Directorate, with the assistance of the Khyber Agency’s political administration, has built two additional classrooms along with four latrines and the boundary wall of the Government Girls’ High School in Jamrud, which has an enrolment of 1,600 students.

A press release issued by the Fata Development Fund said that due to less space students of the school were crammed in classrooms and classes were often held on rugs in the halls or in the open.

Students were also facing problems due to non-availability of proper latrine facilities. The press release said the boundary wall was also badly needed to separate the primary section from the high school.

The agency’s education officer inaugurated the newly-provided facilities and thanked the political administration for prioritising construction of the classrooms, latrines and the boundary wall.

Parents of students and community elders, who were present on the occasion, praised the government for providing basic facilities in the school and hoped that it would further improve the learning environment of the school.