Two brothers shot dead

TAXILA, Oct 3: Relatives and family members of two brothers, who were shot dead over a petty dispute, blocked Taxila-Hattar road for several hours here on Wednesday.

Police said Nisar Khan, Ahmed Hassan, Khawar Khan, Saad Khan and Asif Ali equipped with different weapons allegedly shot dead Asif Khan, 23, and his 19-year-old brother Mastan Khan, residents of Rehbar Colony, over a dispute of cutting a tree in a farmland.

Later, the family members and relatives put the bodies on the main highway and demanded arrest of the killers.

Police reached the spot and persuaded the protesters to disperse, saying one of the alleged killers - Saad Khan – had been arrested and raids were being conducted to round up the others. Police said the victims belonged to Mardan and worked in a farm here.—Correspondent

Schoolteacher killed

MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 3: A schoolteacher was killed in Neelum valley on Wednesday after his motorbike overturned, police said.

Shafi Butt was coming to Athmuqam from his Bugna village when he met the accident near Ban Chattar. He was rushed to the hospital but could not survive.—Staff Correspondent

Four robbers held TAXILA, Oct 3: Four robbers were arrested after they looted a jewellery shop here on Wednesday. Police said the bandits entered the shop in the commercial market at Fasial Shaheed Road at around 2pm and made the owner hostage at gunpoint. They looted gold ornaments worth Rs0.4 million and fled in a car. After getting information, the police intercepted the robbers near a telephone factory on Taxila-Haripur Road.

However, they disembarked from the vehicle, hid in the woods and opened fire on the police. Police enforcement was called and after one-hour, the bandits were overpowered. The arrested men were identified as Abdul Rasheed, Mohammad Haneef, Kamran Ahmed and Mohammad Shareef alias Raiz, residents of Rawalakot in Azad Kashmir, Abbotabad and Lahore. Police said they recovered the looted valuables, weapons and the vehicle used in the robbery. —Correspondent

Uplift projects for Gujar Khan

GUJAR KHAN, Oct 3: The PPP government has launched development projects worth billions of rupees in Gujar Khan tehsil to bring it at par with the developed areas of the province. This was stated by Raja Jawaid Ashraf, the chief patron of the party’s Gujar Khan chapter, while speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday.

He said on the directives of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, the Mandra-Chakwal and Sohawa-Chakwal highways were being dualised at a cost of over Rs6 billion.

The construction of a multi-purpose hall, development of playgrounds and construction of a boundary wall at the Sarwar Shaheed Government College, allocation of funds for the bar association, press club, pavement of link roads and provision of gas to all the 33  union councils were also included in the development plans, he added.—Correspondent

Position holders honoured

MURREE, Oct 3: On the invitation of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, students of Secondary School Certificate (SSC), who secured top positions in various educational boards of the Punjab, visited Murree.

The students were welcomed by Assistant Commissioner Murree Tariq Chandio and Director-General Protocol Asjad Ghani on behalf of the chief minister, and a guard of honour was presented by the Punjab police.

They will stay at the Punjab House Murree for three days as special guests of the chief minister, and visit various recreational places such as Patriata chair lift, Bhurban and Mall Road. Furthermore, a ceremonial dinner will be held at the lawns of Government House Kashmir Point, Murree.

While talking to media, the students displayed tremendous excitement and thanked the chief minister for the honour. —Correspondent

ASI suspended

ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: An official of the Aabpara police station was suspended after he scuffled with two armymen on Wednesday. A police team led by ASI Asif Hayat reached Shakarparian in response to a robbery complaint. The policemen were searching for the suspects when they spotted two persons in civvies.

“When the ASI asked for their identification, they entered into a harsh argument and abused him,” according to the police. The two men then introduced themselves as Javed Shah and Ahmed, personnel of the army’s engineering corps. Later, a major of the corps approached the supervisory officer of the Aabpara police and registered a complaint seeking legal action against the ASI.

The supervisory officer suspended the ASI and ordered an inquiry against him. —Staff Reporter

Self employment scheme

ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: Pakistan Baitul Mal (PBM) has launched a self employment scheme by providing financial assistance to poor students in order to mitigate unemployment in the country.

Pakistan Baitul Mal Chairman Zamarud Khan said here on Wednesday that assistance would be provided to students who have completed their vocational training to help them utilise their professional skills. Technical institutions would also be assisted in imparting relevant skills. He added the PBM would meet the travel expense of candidates seeking employment abroad. Mr Zamarud said unemployment led the youth to vices such as theft, drug addiction and terrorism. To counter these, the social welfare institution had decided to play its role by reducing unemployment.

The chairman said the Baitul Mal would continue to extend its support to the youth, and advised students to use an honest and professional approach to work.— Staff Reporter

Books translated in Turkish

ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: Selective short stories of renowned writers and scholars of Pakistan, including Saadat Hassan Manto, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Qudsia Bano and Ashfaq Ahmed have been translated into the Turkish language.

National Language Authority (NLA) on Wednesday organised a ceremony in honour of writer colonel (retired) Masood Akhter Sheikh, who translated these short stories in the Turkish language.

Scholar Dr Anwar Ahmed, while talking to participants at the gathering said that people of Turkey really care about the people of Pakistan and in three universities of Turkey, Urdu is being taught. He said that Akhtar Sheikh has provided a document for the future.

Turkish Ambassador, Babar Hazlan thanked Akhter Sheikh for providing an opportunity to the people of Turkey to gain knowledge about the culture, tradition and customs of Pakistan.

It is worth mentioning that 80 years old colonel (retired) Masood Akhter Sheikh has translated 14 English and 9 Urdu books into Turkish and cultural department of the government of Turkey purchased 3,000 books of each translated book.—A Reporter