Man killed in road accident

TAXILA, Jan 4: A motorcyclist was killed and two others injured in two road incidents in the limits of Hassanabdal and Taxila police stations on Wednesday.

In the first incident, a speedy dumper (E-3683) hit a motorcycle near Manoon Nagar on G T Road. Resultantly, motorcyclist, Mohammad Sadiq, died on the spot while his 12-years-old son, Mohammad Adil, received critical injuries. The driver of the dumper fled the scene.

In the other incident, a speedy passenger bus knocked down an 11-year-old boy on Taxila-Khanpur Road near Mohra Maradu. Police sources said Shabbir Khan was crossing the road when the bus hit him. The injured was taken to THQ hospital from where he was shifted to DHQ hospital, Rawalpindi due to his critical condition. Police registered cases and started investigation.— Correspondent

Passport office opens

CHAKWAL, Jan 4: The long-standing demand of the residents of the district was fulfilled when the passport office was inaugurated on Wednesday.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Ayaz Amir opened the passport office in a ceremony held in front of District Council Plaza which was attended by other PML-N leaders including MNA Sardar Mumtaz Tamman, Let-Gen (retired) Abdul Majeed Malik, Aslam Sethi and Director General Passports Wajid Ali Bokhari.

Speaking on the occasion, Ayaz Amir expressed his gratitude to federal government for providing the facility to the people of the district. He said that had interior minister Rehman Malik not issued proper directions, the passport office would have not been established.

DG Passports Syed Wajid Ali Bokhari termed the inauguration of passport office as a major development for Chakwal. “It’s the policy of the government to provide basic facilities to the people at their doorsteps,” he said.— A Correspondent

Light snowfall likely

ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Wednesday forecast light snowfall in Murree, Galiat, Malakand, Gilgit-Baltistan and adjoining hilly areas on Thursday.

Talking to APP, an official of Met office said that the western disturbance affecting upper parts of the country is likely to persist for next 48 hours which will cause cloudy weather conditions in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Sargodha during next two days.

However, the northern areas are expected to receive light rain and snowfall during the period.

Light rain or drizzle may occur is twin cities during next 24- 48 hours. However, moderate shower is expected in Lahore on Friday, the official said. The weather is likely to remain cold and dry in central and lower parts of the country however the prevailing foggy conditions are likely to subside due to this weather system.

Meanwhile, dense fog would once again engulf the plain areas of Punjab from January 7-8 because the prevailing weather system is not strong enough to subside foggy conditions in these areas while extreme cold wave will again grip the country with foggy weather, the official said.

About less rain in agriculture areas, the official informed that the less rainfall is affecting crops in barani and other plain areas of the country which may affect its yield.— APP

Gamblers arrested

ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Margalla police on Wednesday arrested 11 gamblers and recovered stake money, mobile phones and other wireless phones on Wednesday.

On a tip-off, the police raided a flat in Himalaya Plaza in Sector G-9/4 and arrested Imran, operator of the gambling den, Mudassar Hussain, Saeed Butt, Shehzad Khan, Naeem, Mazhar Javed, Younus, Naseebur Rehman, Ilyas, Tariq and Nisar.

Stake money worth Rs352,101,0, mobile phones and several wireless phones, computers and other related equipments along with horse races’ brochures were also recovered during the raid.

Meanwhile, the CIA police nabbed a notorious bootlegger Shebhaz alias Jin during a raid at Jinnah Garden. The arrest also unearthed a local distillery and led to the recovery of 224 liquor bottles, huge quantity of alcohol, brewing items and empty wine bottles. — Staff Reporter

Markets in poor condition

ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The markets of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad situated near the drains have been in a deplorable condition for a long time due to lack of repair and maintenance work.

In the absence of basic necessities such as toilets, drinking water, regular sweeping and a garbage disposal system, these markets have become a major problem for both the shopkeepers and shoppers. Garbage littered in and around the markets also causes problems for the visitors.

Expressing concern over the poor condition of the markets, a shopkeeper, Zubair Ali, of F-6/1 market said that the rent of the shops had been increased by 100 per cent during last eight years but no attention was being paid towards their maintenance.— APP