Revenue officials warned

KOHAT, April 5: The commissioner Kohat division on Tuesday warned the revenue department officials of taking disciplinary action against them if they didn’t correct their ways.

He said 80 per cent of complaints he received every month were about incompetence of the revenue officials.

He was chairing a meeting of the divisional revenue committee attended by additional commissioner (revenue), DCOs of Kohat, Hangu and Karak and revenue officials.

The meeting discussed ways to make recovery of land revenue more public friendly. The commissioner said the poor people already hit by sky rocketing price hike, loadshedding and other problems should be provided some relief. —Correspondent

Payment of salaries

PESHAWAR, April 5: Commission agents association at the wholesale vegetable market has demanded of the government to pay the pending salaries to the employees associated with the market.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday the association president Malik Sohni said salaries of the workers of market committee had been stopped for the past several months.

He said the government was bound to pay salaries to the workers on every pay day but it failed to do so.

He also blamed the concerned contractor for delaying payment of contract money, saying out of Rs80 million only Rs16 million had been paid so far. —Bureau Report

1,250kg hashish seized

PESHAWAR, April 5: Police on Tuesday arrested an alleged drug smuggler and seized 1,250 kilogram hashish concealed in a truck.

“The narcotics had been concealed under sand in a truck (E-3429-Peshawar) which was being smuggled from Bara area of Khyber Agency to Punjab,” said Cantonment Circle SP Shafiullah Khan at a press conference here.

He said the driver identified as Wazir Khan of Bara had escaped while his accomplice Janab Gul of Bara was in police custody. He said the police had prior information about the drug smuggling and had cordoned off Bara Road near Peshtakhara police station where the hashish were recovered.

The SP referring to the statement of the accused said that main suppliers were Khalid Khan and Raweed Khan of Bara. He said the seized hashish was worth millions of rupees in the open market. —Bureau Report Increase in rent opposed

PESHAWAR, April 5: Shopkeepers associations on Tuesday expressed concern over the 30 per cent increase in rent of the shops at Dil Jan Plaza, Peshawar Saddar, and demanded withdrawal of the decision for three years.

A meeting of the traders unions was held with Markazi Tanzeem-i-Tajiran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Sharaf Ali Mubarak in the chair wherein the participants demanded withdrawal of the eviction notices issued to the shopkeepers.

They said that ejection of the shopkeepers was tantamount to financial murder of the traders. They said the terrorism had hit hard the business community and if such decisions against them were implemented that would deprive them of livelihood.

The 30 per cent increase in the rent, they said was totally unjust as under the rent control laws only 25 per cent increase was allowed after three years.

They appealed to the FC Commandant Mohammad Akbar Khan Hoti, KP governor, president and prime minister to take notice of the situation and accept their demands. —Bureau Report

Journalist passes away

MARDAN, April 5: Fazal Qadir Mehmand, a Mardan-based senior journalist, passed away after a prolong illness here on Tuesday, family sources said.

Fazal Qadir worked with different national dailies and news agencies during his 25-year journalistic career. Presently, he was working with the Urdu daily Khabrain.

He survived a widow, two sons and three daughters. The journalistic community in Mardan expressed deep sorrow over the sad demise of Fazal Qadir.

They expressed sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul. —Correspondent

Vocational training

PESHAWAR, April 5: The National Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday launched a vocational training programme for females in a Dar-ul-Aman located in Mandia area of Abbottabad.

The programme was launched under the aegis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) wing of the bank with the aim to provide opportunity to the females to get vocational training and earn livelihood in a respectable manner. Tabriz Hassan Butt, regional head, was the chief guest.

Tabriz Butt said being a nationalised bank the NBP took the initiative of providing skill training to the females who had no sources of earning.

He said after completion of the training programme, commissioner Abbottabad would be invited to distribute sewing machines among the trainees.—APP SQM leader to rejoin ANP

SWABI, April 5: Mohammad Naeem, son of Firdous Khan, late Khudai Khidmatgar Tehrik activist and brother of the founder of Swabi Qaumi Mahaz (SQM), late Dr Mohammad Salim Khan will rejoin the ANP after 14 years of disassociation on Wednesday (today), said a ANP leader on Tuesday.

ANP district general secretary told this correspondent all the arrangements for Mr Naeem’s rejoining the party had been completed.

He said Azam Hoti, prominent leader of ANP, would be chief guest on the occasion.

Dr Naeem had left the ANP in 1997 after the nationalist party refused to give his uncle Dr Salim party ticket to contest elections for the second time. —Correspondent Students visit wildlife dept

PESHAWAR, April 5: Students of Zoology Department of the Peshawar University on Tuesday visited the offices of the wildlife department to get themselves aware about the measures being adopted for conservation of nature.

About 50 students, both male and female, visited different sections of the department and were briefed about the measures adopted by the department for conservation and preservation of different wild species found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a press release.

The students showed keen interest in the museum of the department where stuffed bodies of the wild species found in KP were displayed for the information of visitors.

DFO wildlife headquarters Sajjad Khan escorted the students and answered their queries about different wild animals and their habitat in the province.—APP