LANDI KOTAL: An Afghan cleric was killed in Sultankhel area of Landi Kotal on Friday.

Local residents said an unidentified man fired three gunshots at 55-year-old Maulana Abdul Haleem when he was preparing for Fajr prayer.

They said the Afghan cleric died instantly.

The residents said the deceased belonged to Basawal district of Nangrahar province in Afghanistan and had been living in the area for almost one and a half decades.

They said Maulana Abdul Haleem, prayer leader at a local mosque, was a vocal supporter of the Afghan Taliban.

The body was sent to Afghanistan after funeral prayer was offered.

No group claimed responsibility for the killing.

WATER SHORTAGE: The families of Sipah tribe, who returned to Bara tehsil lately after the prolonged displacement, have complained about the acute shortage of drinking water in Speen Qabar, Nihar Ghara, Spera Dam Road, Jhansi Road, Yousaf Talab and Gharreza areas.

They said they had to buy water from privately-owned bowsers as water pipes had been damaged over the last six years.

The tribesmen said the one water bowser arranged by the local administration had turned out to be too little for around 30,000 people.

They demanded the immediate increase in the number of water bowsers and early repair of the damaged pipes.

Meanwhile, the Bara irrigation department said the ongoing repair and cleaning of Spera canals would be completed in a week.

Ajmal Khan of the department said the completion of work on the canals would help restore smooth water supply to most parts of Bara, especially Sipah, Malakdin Khel, Akkakhel and Shalobar, for drinking and irrigation purposes.

He said six years of militancy and the subsequent military operations had left Spera dam ‘of no use.’

The official said two of the underground canals were choked with mud and sand and thus, blocking water supply to most parts of Bara.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2016