Feud claims life

KOHAT, Feb 25: An old enmity claimed life of a property dealer in posh KDA town on Saturday.

The concerned police said Zahid Hamid allegedly killed proprietor of Bilal Property Centre, Malik Naimat Shah, inside his office by firing with a pistol. The accused managed to escape after committing the crime. The KDA police checkpost registered a murder case against the accused Zahid Hamid who is a resident of sector 1 of KDA and launched investigations into the murder incident.—Correspondent

Youth shot dead

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Feb 25: A youth was killed over a domestic dispute in Aslam village of Kulachi tehsil, 40 kilometers north of here on Saturday, police said.

Three armed persons shot dead Abdul Majeed, 22. Mohammad Ramzan lodged an FIR with the Kulachi police station, reporting that he along with his nephew Abdul Majeed, went to a tube-well in the village for fetching water. He added as soon as they reached the spot the accused Dilawar, Shahzad and Rahmatullah, who were present there, allegedly opened indiscriminate fire on them with Kalashnikovs leaving his nephew critically injured. He succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. The culprits managed to escape after the incident.

Mr Ramzan told police they had a women dispute with the accused which resulted in the murder of his nephew.—Correspondent

Spillway opening

ABBOTTABAD Feb 25: Spillways of Atta Abad lake will be opened on Monday (Feb 27) to release the surplus water from the lake. Populations residing along the River Sindh downstream have been advised against going near the river banks to avoid any untoward incident.

Commissioner Hazara Khalid Khan Umerzai, in a press note issued here on Saturday, directed the administrations of Kohistan, Torghar, Mansehra and Haripur districts to adopt precautionary measures, including asking people to move to safer places as there were chances of minor flood in the river and linked nullahs after the spillway would be opened.

The spillways are being opened as heavy rain in Gilgit and Baltistan few days back has added pressure to the artificially created lake, forcing the authorities to release the additional water.—Correspondent

Pasban workers protest

PESHAWAR, Feb 25: The workers of Pasban on Saturday held a protest demonstration at Sher Shah Suri Road against the burning of Quran by Nato forces in Afghanistan and termed it a conspiracy against the Muslims.

The protesters led by Pasban provincial organiser Ilyas Qureshi were holding banners and placards inscribed with anti-US, anti-Nato slogans. They also shouted slogans against the growing US influence in Pakistan and described it as weakness of the government.

Mr Qureshi urged the government to sever diplomatic ties with the US and its allies as they could not become friends of Pakistan. “The burning of Quran’s copies is a challenge for all the Muslims across the world and they should take a unified stand to get the accused punished and ensure that such incidents do not recur.” He asked the ruling parties to respect religious sentiments of the nation and sever diplomatic ties with the countries, whose citizens were involved in the desecration of Quran. —Bureau Report

Power outages

PESHAWAR, Feb 25: Provincial president of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) Syed Mohammad Sibtain Gilani has said masses would be left with no option but to come to the streets if the unannounced and prolonged power breakdowns do not come to an end.

In a press statement issued here on Saturday, he said presently Tarbela and Warsak dams were generating 1,800 to 2,800 megawatts power while the requirement of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was just 2,500 megawatts. He added the power generated from the projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was hydel-based but the consumers of the province were charged with fuel surcharge.

Interestingly, he said, the power consumers of other provinces had been exempted from the fuel surcharge, adding the provincial government was playing the role of a silent spectator in this regard. “It belies the tall claims of the Awami National Party to provide free electricity to the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.—Bureau Report

Polio refusal cases

MANSEHRA, Feb 25: The polio refusal cases have been brought down to only 300 from over 600 after the involvement of ulema in polio eradication campaign in Mansehra district.

“There were over 600 polio refusal cases, mostly on religious grounds, but after participation of ulema in the polio eradication campaign the number has decreased to 300,” said Maulana Wasseur Rehman, the country consultant of National Research and Development Foundation, while speaking at a press conference here on Saturday.

Beside others MS of King Abdullah Teaching Hospital Dr Niaz Mohammad also spoke on the occasion.

They said following the participation of ulema in the polio eradication campaign from NRDF platform in November 2011, the refusal cases had come down to 300 from more than 600. They said parents of remaining refusal cases would be convinced to get their children vaccinated against polio.

They said it was collective responsibility of health department, parents and civil society to strive for eradication of polio from the county.—Correspondent

Contractors’ body elections

KOHAT, Feb 25: The new office-bearers of the Kohat district contractors association for the year 2012 were elected here on Saturday.

The elections were conducted under the supervision of the provincial contractors association. All the 132 contractors of Kohat took part in the elections.

According to the results, the Mukhtiar Ahmed Afridi group defeated the panel of Misbahuddin. Both the groups got 78 and 54 votes, respectively.

Mukhtiar Ahmed Afridi was elected as new president, Younis Khan senior vice president, Mohammad Ghulam vice president-1, Samandar Khan vice president-2, Haji Mohammad Iqbal secretary general, Pir Faiq Shah additional secretary general, Alamzeb Afridi deputy secretary general, Haji Ikramullah secretary finance and Majid Saleem as secretary information.—Correspondent

Construction of bridges

PESHAWAR, Feb 25: Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Karamatullah Khan Chagharmati on Saturday directed for initiating construction work on bridges at Chagarmatti, Garhi Sherdad, Matra and Panah Dehri bridges at the earliest. He said the same must be completed in stipulated time to help minimise the hardship of people of these areas.

He said this while talking to a delegation from union council Chagarmatti led by Syed Anwar.

The speaker said the construction activities should be planned in a manner that people do not face inconvenience during construction phase.

He said modern infrastructure and communication facilities were key elements in attaining economic prosperity. —APP