Soft drink factories sealed

LAKKI MARWAT, March 31: Three illegal soft drink manufacturing factories were sealed in Lakki city on Saturday.

DCO Nisar Ahmad had received complaints from public circles that the sale of low quality soft drinks was continuing unabated in the open market, hazarding human health.

Following the directives of district coordination officer, ACO Liaqat Ali Bhatti along with officials of health and food departments paid surprise inspection visits to the soft drinks manufacturing factories in Lakki city and sealed them.

The factories were being run illegally as the owners could not produce any licence or other relevant documents regarding preparing soft drinks. Officials of health and food departments also collected samples of soft drinks from the illegally run factories for laboratory tests.—Correspondent

PTI activists block road

BANNU, March 31: The workers and leaders of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Isaf on Saturday blocked the main Bannu road in protest against the killing of party activist Naveed Khan and demanded early arrest of his assassins.

Naveed Khan was gunned down while on his way home by accused Ajab Khan, Naimatullah and Nasim Khan. The motive behind the killing was stated to be a minor dispute.

The protesters set tyres on fire at various intersections. Addressing the protesters, the PTI leaders demanded immediate arrest of the killers. They also expressed no trust on the SHO Bannu Abdul Hanan Marwat and demanded his transfer from the district.

They alleged the assailants had backing of the police. They demanded the chief justices of Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court to take suo motu action on the brutal killing of Naveed.—Correspondent

Funds for sports grounds

PESHAWAR, March 31: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has sanctioned over Rs16 million for construction and upgradation of sports grounds in Bannu district.Leader of the opposition in the provincial assembly Akram Khan Durrani said the amount had been sanctioned on the directives of the chief minister, according to a press release issued here on Saturday.

He said Rs9.2 million had been sanctioned for Merakhel cricket ground, Rs2.4 million for Bannu city sports complex and Rs5 million for construction of Kabadi ground in the city. Mr Durrani had requested the chief minister to release funds for upgradation of sports facilities to help promote healthy activities among the youngsters.—Bureau Report

PPP MPA flays Nawaz

PESHAWAR, March 31: PPP MPA Dr Faiza Rasheed has accused the PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif of hatching conspiracies against the PPP government.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Saturday the MPA said Nawaz Sharif had left the country under an agreement with former president Pervez Musharaff but it was Benazir Bhutto who paved way for his return to the country.

“The PML-N leader should not forget that his government had implicated PPP leaders in fake cases but Benazir Bhutto had never opted to take revenge,” she said.

Referring to the protest demonstrations of PML-N against the loadshedding, she said Mr Sharif during his governments had never bothered to construct any new dam at least to increase a single megawatt of electricity.—Bureau Report

Increase in CNG prices

PESHAWAR, March 31: The All Pakistan CNG Association has strongly rejected the proposed massive increase in CNG prices, and asked the government to review its decision as it will lead to massive price hike across the country.

The association’s chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, in a statement on Saturday, said a meeting of the association had been called to discuss the situation and decide future line of action as it was unbearable for the people to pay the exorbitant prices.

“The increase will be illogical and unacceptable and will invite public wrath”, he warned and added most countries were rapidly converting to CNG while in Pakistan it was being ruined.

CNG consumers, he said had already been disturbed by unjust three days of gas loadshedding and the increase in CNG was like a bomb on them.—Bureau Report

Gur supply not banned

PESHAWAR, March 31: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has clarified that transportation of gur to Fata and other areas has not been officially banned by any authority.

In a letter, issued from the Home and Tribal Affairs Department here on Saturday, the additional chief secretary (Fata), provincial police officer and all commissioners in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been directed to ensure implementation of this order in letter and spirit to help the general public in addressing their problems in this connection.

The order has been issued to thwart the wrong notion of ban on transportation of gur from Peshawar to tribal and other areas.

The order will help address the problems faced by relevant segments of the society i.e. farmers, exporters and traders.—Bureau Report

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