Farmer killed

CHAKWAL, Oct 19: A farmer was killed after his tractor fell on him, sources said on Friday.

Humayun Khan, a resident of Pinjain village, was ploughing his field when his tractor overturned while passing a bumpy area, killing him on the spot.

The villagers rushed to the scene and after hectic efforts managed to retrieve the body from underneath the tractor. — Correspondent

Child dies in accident

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: A five-year-old girl was killed in a road accident in the capital’s rural area on Friday.

Shumaila Bibi was crossing the Expressway when a speeding vehicle hit her.

She suffered multiple injuries and was shifted to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The police have impounded the vehicle and arrested its driver. — Staff Reporter

Man shot, injured

TAXILA, Oct 19: A man was shot and injured while resisting a gang of robbers, in the limits of Wah Saddar police station on Friday.

Waqar reported to the police that he was on his motorcycle, when three masked men equipped with pistols intercepted him near New City area.

The masked men opened fire at him and fled away with his motorcycle, cash and cell phone. Wah Saddar police registered a case and started further investigation. — Correspondent

Two gangs busted

TAXILA, Oct 19: Hassanabdal Police on Thursday claimed to have busted two different gangs and arrested six members involved in murder and robbery.

A spokesman of Hassanabdal Police has said that a gang of three bandits shot dead a truck driver named Mehfouz Khan on resisting a robbery bid at a hotel on GT road near Burhan some two weeks back. Police on a tip off, arrested three members of the gang including ring leader Yasir and other members identified as Ijaz and Tahir. The accused hail from Swat and other areas of KPK. — Correspondent

PNCA workshop concludes

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The five-day woodblock printmaking workshop, arranged by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), concluded at the National Art Gallery on Friday.

The workshop was conducted by international award winner Dr Shahida Mansoor, associate professor, Department of Architecture and Design, Comsats Institute of Information Technology. The main objective of the workshop was to encourage students, artists and enthusiasts to learn and explore possibilities the medium offers.

The technique is gaining popularity as it is environment friendly, easily recyclable and involves no health risks.

Toshikazu Isomura from the Japanese embassy in Islamabad was the chief guest and distributed certificates among the participants of the workshop. — A Reporter

Scholarship programme

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The Sauvé Scholars Foundation has announced that it will be accepting applications for the 2013-14 Sauvé Scholars Programme till November 1.

In a press release, it said the programme was designed for highly motivated independent thinkers with demonstrated skills as agents of change.

In August of each year, up to 14 young leaders from around the world gather at Montreal, Canada, to embark on a programme combining reflection, study, travel and community engagement along with participation in conferences, seminars, cultural and sports events.

Export processing zone

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The establishment of an export processing zone (EPZ) in the federal capital, proposed by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), was approved by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday.

RCCI President Manzar Khurshid said the EPZ would potentially increase exports to $15 billion per annum. He said the business community required at least 12 hours of uninterrupted power supply and abolishment of retrospective fuel adjustment charges.

Mr Khurshid said the government should tackle the circular debt problem and give the industry preference, adding that the RCCI had to hold six foreign exhibitions on its own to promote exports. The prime minister has directed the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) to ensure RCCI reliable power supply, and agreed to simplify the tax procedure. — Our Reporter

Pindi gets more water

RAWALPINDI, Oct 19: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) here on Friday said drinking water problem in some localities has been resolved on a permanent basis.

The agency said it had added over 1.5 million gallons daily (MGD) water to its total supply to meet the requirements of the consumers in Muslim Town, Affendi Colony, Khurram Colony, Dhoke Pannu, Iqbal Town and Dhoke Ali Akbar.

“These localities were facing acute water shortage in summer but now the problem has been resolved permanently. There would be no water shortage in these areas in future,” Wasa Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood said in a statement.

He said five new tubewells had been installed in the National Park area of Islamabad from where drinking water would be pumped through a 24-inch pipeline covering a distance of 4.5 kilometres.

He said three motors having 80 horse power each had also been attached the tubewells at a cost of Rs18 million. These motors were requisitioned from international companies. The Wasa chief also said efforts were underway to resolve the drinking water issue in other parts of the city. — Our Reporter

State land retrieved

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The Kural police claimed to have retrieved state land from the occupation of two groups in the Kirpa village.

Two weeks back, the groups had occupied common land – Shamlat – falling between the villages of Kirpa and Bangial which led to a clash between them and the local people.

Raja Saad, one of the villages, claimed that his father was the owner of the land.

However, his rival Raja Aurangzeb said it as his family property. The two groups later also occupied the 2,700 kanals adjacent to the common land and constructed bunkers there.

On Thursday, one of the villagers, Haq Nawaz, lodged a complaint with the police, stating that he was a guard at the land and during a clash between the two groups he received a bullet injury.

When the police reached the land on Friday, the group opened fire but the police pushed them back and retrieved the land.

After dismantling the bunkers, the police also deployed its personnel there to avoid any untoward incident.—Staff Reporter