Three labourers buried alive

KOHAT, Oct 4: Three labourers were buried alive and as many were injured when a tunnel in a mountain in Shahpur area caved in during digging of soil on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses and police said the labourers were digging the mountain and filling a tractor trolley inside a tunnel when a huge piece of loose soil fell on them. At the time of the incident six labourers were working in the tunnel.

The volunteers from the nearby houses rushed to the scene and pulled out the labourers after several hours.

But by that time Mohammad Afzal, Jalil Khan of Shahpur and Afghan refugee Mohammad Ullah had died due to suffocation.

Labourers Sameed Khan of Shahpur and Afghan refugees Wali Khan and Spin Gul were injured and shifted to KDA hospital. —Correspondent

Boy found murdered

SWABI, Oct 4: Body of Salman Khan, 20, from Topi, was found in bushes near the River Indus on Tuesday. He was murdered with daggers by unidentified assailants.

Police said Mr Khan was missing from his house for the last four days and his parents were looking for his whereabouts. Officials in Topi police station said it was not immediately known what caused his murder. It was learnt that he went out along with some friends.

The parents were informed by the locals about the body of their son lying in the bushes near the River Indus.

His body was brought to the civil hospital where his postmortem was conducted, revealing that he was killed with daggers.

Sohrab Khan, father of the deceased, has registered an FIR against unidentified persons at Topi city police station. —Correspondent

Road accident claims life

LANDI KOTAL, Oct 4: One person was killed while four others received injuries in a road accident in Landi Kotal on Tuesday.

Local officials said the incident took place at Charwazgai intersection where a Suzuki Alto was crushed under a Nato container.

The accident occurred due to over-speeding, a khasadar official posted near the site of the accident said.

Qadar Gul, resident of Mardan, died on the spot while Samad Khan, his two children, Shahidullah and Sumaira, along with an FC man Abdul Wahab received critical injuries. All of them were riding in the car when the incident took place. The injured were shifted to a Peshawar hospital. —Correspondent

Misuse of power

PESHAWAR, Oct 4: Taking notice of the complaints against police by the All Pakistan Tankers’ Owners Association, the CCPO Peshawar Imtiaz Altaf has warned of strict action against those found guilty of misuse of power.

Talking to a delegation of the association on Tuesday, the CCPO asked the transporters to contact him directly in case of any complaint. He said police had taken concrete measures to provide security to the people.

The delegation leader Nasir Ali Khan apprised the CCPO of the problems being faced by the transporters in supply of oil to different parts of the province and Fata regions. He said they had permits for supply of petroleum products to different tribal agencies but the police used to tease them at different check points in Nowshera and Peshawar. —Bureau Report

Southern Ring Road

PESHAWAR, Oct 4: Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has stressed the need to expedite the pace of work on the reconstruction and widening of Southern Ring Road project in Peshawar to ease traffic pressure.

He said the project was of vital importance both for the settled districts and Fata regions and would facilitate the commuters.

The governor expressed these views while presiding over a meeting to review pace of progress on the project at Governor House on Tuesday. He said special efforts were required to complete the project within stipulated period.

The meeting besides the provincial secretary of the local government was also attended by the secretary to governor, secretary law and order Fata and the senior officials of the Peshawar Development Authority and the donors. —Bureau Report

Judges promoted

PESHAWAR, Oct 4: The Peshawar High Court has ordered promotions of 20 civil judges to the posts of additional district and sessions judges and senior civil judges, respectively.

According to press release issued here on Tuesday, the departmental promotion/administration committee of the high court had on September 29 and 30 recommended promotions of the said 20 judicial officers, following which two separate notifications were issued. —Bureau Report

Peace in Kurram

PESHAWAR, Oct 4: A high-level meeting chaired by the Governor Barrister Masood Kausar here on Tuesday reviewed the law and order situation in Kurram Agency.

The meeting was attended among others by the Corp Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Asif Yaseen Malik, inspector general Frontier Corps, secretary law and order Fata, commissioner Kohat and political agent Kurram Agency. It took stock of the overall situation in the agency and expressed satisfaction over the successful completion of operation against militants.

The meeting noted that the situation in the agency was comparatively calm and resolved to restore peace and sectarian harmony in the agency. The meeting urged both sections of the sectarian divide to cooperate and support the government’s efforts for restoration of lasting peace in the agency. —Bureau Report

Man shot dead

BANNU, Oct 4: A man was brutally murdered over an old enmity at Sokari Jabbar in the limits of Cantt police station on Tuesday, police said.

Accused Mir Baz, Asmatullh, and Islam Nawaz forcibly entered the house of Gul Ahmad and killed him by spraying a volley of bullets. Gul Ahmad died on the spot while culprits escaped from the crime scene. The reason behind the murder was stated to be an old enmity.—APP

2,500kg meat seized

PESHAWAR, Oct 4: Khasadar force of Landi Kotal on Tuesday foiled a bid to smuggle 2,500kg meat to Afghanistan and arrested a man at Torkham Border.

Political tehsildar, Landi Kotal, Abdul Nabi Bangash, on a tip-off about meat smuggling to Afghanistan, constituted a team of Khasadar force to frustrate the attempt.

The team intercepted a pick-up truck at Torkham Border and seized the 2,500kg meat besides arresting the involved person.

The meat was later auctioned through open bidding. The provincial government and political authorities have banned meat transportation to Afghanistan from Pakistan.—APP