20 outlaws held in Dera

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Oct 30: The Dera police rounded up 20 outlaws involved in various sectarian killings and terrorist activities.

A police spokesman said a huge cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered from their possession.

The official said the anti-state elements were arrested from Zafar Abad locality, adding they were shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation.

Police also seized six pistols, four assault rifles, a Kalakov and 120 rounds of different bores.

Meanwhile, a youth namely Azizullah was shot dead by unknown persons in Dera town police jurisdiction. Motive behind the killing could not be ascertained.

Police on report of deceased’s father registered FIR and started investigation.—Correspondent

Four schools upgraded

KOHAT, Oct 30: The government has upgraded four boys high schools to the higher secondary level.

MPA Engr Syed Qalb-i-Hassan, while addressing a public meeting here said the government had approved Rs18 million for upgradation of Behzadi Chakakot, Ustarzai, Khadizai and Muhammadzai high schools to higher secondary schools.

Meanwhile, the monitoring team of Higher Education Commission visited Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST) for inspecting the implementation of criteria set up for the PhD programme.

A press release issued here said the federal government had constituted a high level team to ensure that the universities were following the criteria for the admissions and courses of PhD devised by the HEC.

The team comprised the vice chancellors of Agriculture University Peshawar, University of Balochistan, and the University of Dera Ismail Khan.—Correspondent

Railway mess

PESHAWAR, Oct 30: The Awami National Party secretary culture for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hameedur Rehman Mohammadzai said on Friday the Pakistan Railways had been suffering losses for 30 years and putting blame of the mess on the ANP-led government and its federal minister was unjustified.

As ANP leader Ghulam Bilour was leading the railways ministry, some elements were trying to tarnish the image of the party, resorting to criticism only for political point scoring and holding the minister responsible for all the ills, said the leader in a statement issued here.

The ANP leader said the railways ministry had asked the ministry of finance to release Rs11 billion bailout package to improve the condition of railways, but the finance ministry was yet to release the pledged amount.

Hameedur Rehman said over the years, lack of attention, poor policies and increasing expenditure were responsible for the railway mess.—Bureau Report

Promotion of culture

PESHAWAR, Oct 30: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussein has said culture cannot be restricted to a particular field as it covers all aspects of life and needs great resources for promotion.

He directed the authorities concerned to make maximum efforts for exploring all resources for promotion of culture and, if possible, the help of donors should also be sought.This he said while talking to a delegation of Cultural Journalists Forum and artists led by Ehtisham Toru on Sunday.

Mian Iftikhar said culture could not be separated from religion as there was no clash between ‘our religion and culture’.

The minister reiterated that culture related people were ‘our assets’ and the government would give them due status and respect.

He said the government would extend cultural contacts with Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan and other neighbouring countries.—APP

Wood technology institute

PESHAWAR, Oct 30: The Small Industries Development Board (SIDB) will establish the Institute of Wood Technology (IWT) to cater for the growing demand of wood for housing and furniture sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This was stated by spokesman of SIDP Prof Nisar Hamdani, while speaking at a two-day workshop in Peshawar.

Prof Hamdani said the institute would be established with the help of the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and that a two-year training programme would be introduced initially.

He informed participants about the contents of course and highlighted the importance of furniture industry in the country's economy, adding the course would generate employment opportunities in the province.—APP