NEWS IN BRIEF

Published March 31, 2011

Bomb kills child TIMERGARA, March 30: A child was killed and his brother injured when a bomb they were playing with exploded at their house in a remote area of Lower Dir on Wednesday.

Police confirmed the incident, saying that a grenade went off at the house of Ilyas killing Farooq and injuring Omar Bacha, sons of Ilyas, in Shalkanai area in the jurisdiction of Khal police station. — Correspondent

Unexploded ordnance PESHAWAR, March 30: The Sustainable Peace and Development Organisation (Spado) has warned the people of Swat to beware of the unexploded ordnance left by militants in different areas.

Spado area coordinator Iftikhar Khan in a statement here on Wednesday said that 40 incidents unexploded ordnance had been reported in different parts of Swat, which had affected 45 people so far. After the successful military operation against the militants and return of the displaced persons, he said, Spado in collaboration with Unicef had trained about 115,000 people to create awareness among the masses about the issue.Mr Iftikhar advised the people not touch suspicious items and immediately inform the security personnel in case of finding any doubtful things in their area. — Bureau Report

Woman shot dead CHARSADDA, March 30: A woman, who had married a man from Mardan, was shot dead by unidentified persons here on Wednesday two days after the killing of her husband.

Family members of the woman, Ms Shamia, have charged her in-laws for the offence. Ms Shamia had left her family and married a resident of Takht Bhai in Mardan district, Zahid Khan, a few months ago over which her family members were annoyed. Two days ago Zahid was also killed by unidentified persons for which his family had charged Ms Shamia’s brother member.

Mother of the deceased woman claimed that she received a telephone call from Ashraf Khan, uncle of Zahid, who told her to collect the body of her daughter from a place in Tanghi Hasara area. — Correspondent

Labour Appellate Tribunal PESHAWAR, March 30: Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has given assent to appoint Peshawar High Court judge, Justice Yahya Afridi, as member of Labour Appellate Tribunal, Peshawar upon recommendation of The PHC chief justice. He was appointed in place of Justice (retd) Abdul Aziz Kundi, said a handout. — Bureau Report

Medical equipment for Fata PESHAWAR, March 30: The Fata Development Programme -- Livelihood Development (FDP-LD) has handed over medical equipment worth Rs24 million to the Fata Health Services Directorate.

The 86 items included medical, surgical and diagnostic equipment that will be shared among six health facilities in the Federally Administered Tribal Area. Speaking at the handover ceremony at Fata Secretariat, director of Fata Health Services Directorate, Dr Fawad Khan, appreciated the assistance being provided by the FDP-LD.

He said that the Fata Health Services Directorate, in coordination with FDP-LD, identified those health facilities that had limited medical equipment. The provision of new equipment would be helpful in better health service provision to the people of tribal areas, he added. — Bureau Report

Kalabagh Dam PESHAWAR, March 30: Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has said that chapter of the Kalabagh Dam has been closed and added that we should focus on other sites to build a dam.

He was talking to participants of 94th National Management Course at the National Management College here on Wednesday, said a handout. He said that mainstreaming Federally Administered Tribal Area was need of the hour. He stated that sustained peace in the region was linked to peace and stability in Afghanistan. Mr Hoti said that recovery and relief process in flood affected areas had been completed and the government was fully concentrating on reconstruction.

To a question on Kalabagh Dam, he said that it was controversial issue and added that implementation on such projects was not best for national unity. — Bureau Report

School of fashion, design PESHAWAR, March 30: President Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Usman Bashir Bilour, while appreciating the training facilities provided by Gems and Gemological Institute for improving skills regarding cutting and polishing of precious stones, urged the government for taking measures to further upgrade GGIP to give the industry a boost.

He expressed these views at a ceremony held for distribution of certificates among the students in Gems and Gemological Institute here on Wednesday.

Mr Bilour said that the trade ministry will soon start work on a school of fashion and design in Peshawar, adding that institutions like GGIP should be strengthen to perform their due role in development of national economy. — APP

Power shutdown notice PESHAWAR, March 30: Due to necessary maintenance work, power supply will remain suspended from 132KV Peshawar Fort grid station on March 31 from 8am to 2pm.

The Peshawar Electric Supply Company in a statement on Wednesday said that due to the suspension of the power supply, the consumers of 11KV Qissa Khwani feeders will face inconvenience. — Bureau Report

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