Poisonous food claims life

RAWALPINDI, Oct 19: A woman died and her two daughters fainted after taking some poisonous food at their house in Noor Colony. Another woman committed suicide by shooting herself on Wednesday, police said.

Mohammad Sadiq in his statement said as he returned home on Tuesday night, he found his wife Ghulam Fatima, 45, and daughters Noreen and Ishrat lying unconscious in a room.

They were taken to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where Fatima died in the wee hours of Wednesday while her daughters were stated to be out of danger.

Preliminary police investigation suggested that the family had taken some poisonous food.

In another incident, Nadia Rafiq, 27, mother of a son and wife of Sohail Manzoor, committed suicide by shooting herself with a pistol at her husband’s house in Sagri, Rawat.

Quoting the father of the victim, police said since her marriage with Manzoor relation between the couple remained strained due to domestic issues.  —Staff Reporter

Light showers likely

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The upper parts of the country including twin cities will receive light showers from Thursday.

The cold winds coming from the North-West will also reduce the mercury level substantially, as the Met office has said that a western disturbance is likely to affect upper parts of the country from Thursday to Saturday that will produce isolated rains accompanied by strong gusty winds.

The Met office has further predicted isolated dust and thunderstorm and rain over upper Punjab including Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during this period, while the dry weather would prevail in rest of the country. The Met office has also advised farmers to prepare land especially of rain-fed (Barani) areas on time for the sowing of coming Rabi crops especially wheat to minimise the loss in yield due to late sowing and to properly utilize the available moisture resulting from the rains. — A Reporter

Bail extended

RAWALPINDI, Oct 19: A special court on Thursday extended the interim bail of Anjum Aqeel Khan, MNA of PML (N) for consecutive ninth time in Rs6 billion National Police Foundation land scam case.

Last time, on October 8, 2011, Special Judge Central Syed Akhlaq Ahmed had extended the interim bail of Khan, former DIG laiq Ahmed and Director National Police Foundation (NPF) Abdul Hanan with the directions to their counsels to appear before the court on next date of hearing for arguments.

But, when the judge resumed hearing on Thursday he was informed that Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, senior counsel for the petitioner, was absent. He expressed annoyance at his absence and put off the hearing till October 25.— A Reporter

Pakistan assured support

ISLAMAABAD, Oct 19:  Saudi Ambassador Abdul Aziz Ibrahim Al-Ghadeer has said that his country would continue supporting Pakistan in every hardship.

“Pakistan is second home for us and its strength, stability and security is dear to us. We want the welfare and progress of the Pakistani people,” he said in a meeting with former federal minister for information and broadcasting Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani here Wednesday. The envoy said that both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would work jointly on every platform for the harmony, unity and progress of Muslims.

Senator Durrani called on the Saudi envoy at the Saudi Embassy to enquire after the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz who has recently undergone a surgery.— A Reporter

Building owners warned

RAWALPINDI, Oct 19: Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) has asked 24 building owners to get their building site plans approved from the civic body otherwise their construction would be razed within 15 days.

The RTMA spokesman Tahir Mehmood Khan told Dawn on Wednesday that building department of RTMA had identified that about two dozens buildings that were constructed illegally and issued notices to the owners.

He said that these buildings were located in Raja Bazaar, Nayya Mohallah, Sabzi Mandi, Benazir Bhutto Road, Dhoke Illahi Buksh, Dhoke Ratta and Saidpur Road. — A Reporter