NEWS IN BRIEF

Published November 21, 2012

Four die on road in Kohat

KOHAT, Nov 20: At least four passengers were killed and three injured in a road accident on Indus Highway here on Tuesday.

The passenger coach was going to Peshawar when it hit an incoming truck near toll plaza of Kohat tunnel. As a result Saifur Rehman, resident of D.I. Khan, Sajid Khan, Hussain Akhtar of Karak and Gul Shaheed belonging to Shahu Khel, Hangu, were killed on the spot.

The injured included Sajidur Rehman, Zafran and Azizur Rehman who were admitted to KDA divisional hospital.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist was killed in an accident with a car in the jurisdiction of Gumbat police station. The deceased’s two brothers riding the motorcycle and the car driver were arrested by police after registration of a case. —Correspondent

ANP slams attack on Qazi

PESHAWAR, Nov 20: Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan has condemned suicide attack on Jamaat-i-Islami former chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad in Mohmand Agency and termed it an act of cowardice.

In a statement issued here, he said that the incident authenticated the ANP’s stance that terrorists were advancing their own agenda that endangered not only Pakistan but the entire region.

The terrorists, Mr Khan said, had declared war against all schools of thought. “Therefore any compromise with the troublemakers will be against the national interest,” he added.

The ANP chief said that his party activists proved that they couldn’t be forced into submission. The militants would not get any mercy because their ideology was based on killing people, he said.

ANP provincial chief Senator Afrasiab Khattak also asked the political forces to stand up against the terrorists, who had no religion. He said that terrorism had assumed the shape of cancer for the whole country in the region. —Bureau Report

Man kills brother

KHAR, Nov 20: A young man was shot dead allegedly by his brother over a domestic dispute in Banda area of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency on Tuesday.

Neighbours said that Bakhat Khan opened fire on his younger brother Gulab Khan after a brief scuffle killing him on the spot.

They said that the dispute was running between the two brothers for several weeks. The accused escaped from the area after the incident while the administration launched a search for him.—Correspondent

Motorbikes banned in Gilgit

GILGIT, Nov 20: The Gilgit-Baltistan administration has imposed ban on use of motorcycles till Ashura as a security measure.

Home Secretary Dr Faisal Zahoor told Dawn that the government had gathered statistics of the last five years and it was learnt that motorcycles were used in most of the sabotage incidents.

The home secretary said that terrorist groups had the ability to prepare an improvised explosive device costing only Rs3 to 4,000 and it could easily be fitted into a motorcycle to target any place.

He said the ban was inevitable in the greater interest of the people. He hoped that people would cooperate with the law enforcement agencies in this regard. —Correspondent

Fire guts shops

PESHAWAR, Nov 20: Fire broke in the main Liaqat Street of Saddar Bazaar and engulfed many shops here on Tuesday evening.

An official of the West Cantonment police station told Dawn that the fire started in a tailor’s shop which spread to the nearby stalls and shops within minutes.

The fire fighters, he said, were called immediately but the blaze had already reduced several shops to ashes, adding that cause of the fire could not be ascertained.—Bureau Report

Menace of drugs

CHITRAL, Nov 20: The leaders of civil society have demanded of the government to discourage the menace of drugs and illegal cutting of trees in the district.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the leaders including former MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, former tehsil nazim Shahzada Sikandar and others said that the two issues posed a threat to the very peace of the area.

They said that the ruthless cutting of trees was destroying the environment on one hand while on the other, the issue of proliferation of drugs was jeopardising the future of Chitrali youth. They accused the police of protecting the drug dealers.

The leaders also criticised the local police for arresting and sending to jail the people of Ayun village who had staged a peaceful protest against the cutting of forests in and around Kalash valleys. —Correspondent

Free education sought

TIMERGARA, Nov 20: A physically-challenged student of the University of Malakand has appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and authorities of higher education to provide him free education as his family could not afford his expenses.

Talking to a group of local journalists at Chakdara on Tuesday, Anwar Shah, student of English department, University of Malakand, said that he lost both his hands as a result of an electric shock.

“I was studying in grade 2 at that time,” he said, adding that he suffered the loss because of non-availability of proper medical treatment.

Anwar Shah, who writes with his right toe, said he got first division in SSC examination and also appeared in the entry test of the Khyber Medical University this year after bagging 798 marks in F.Sc pre-medical.

He appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and authorities of higher education to provide him free education and financial help. —Correspondent

PHC’s Mardan registry hailed

MARDAN, Nov 20: The local lawyer’s community has welcomed the establishment of Peshawar High Court’s Mardan registry.

The chief justice of Peshawar High Court, Dost Mohammad Khan, had announced to establish the PHC registry office in Mardan when he visited the district on Oct 15, 2012.

President of District Bar Association, Mardan, Abdul Ahad Khan while talking to this scribe said that the lawyers of Mardan and Swabi districts had been facing a lot of difficulty in filing cases and other documents when the registry was in Peshawar.

He further said that the registry branch being in Mardan would not only save time but money of clients and lawyers. —Correspondent

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