KOHAT: The gala night organised to mark the end of youth festival was marred by worst mismanagement at the Kohat University of Science and Technology late on Saturday night.

The guests of honour at the youth festival earlier distributed prizes among the outstanding students and performers of debate, paintings, etc. The prizes were distributed by MNA Sheharyar Afridi, MPA Ziaullah Bangash and the chief minister’s adviser Amjid Khan Afridi.

The administration had distributed 2,000 passes among men and women for the music programme. However, when the programme started at 9:30pm with a song by famous singer Hamayun Khan and his team the administration allowed in the people who had no passes. The uninvited people were climbing up and down the walls and going straight to sit on chairs near the stage. The IDPs from the nearby Jarma camps had also occupied some seats since 6pm.

However, when the crowd went out of control assistant commissioner Farrukh Atique ordered baton charge of the miscreants. The organisers later announced end of the show just an hour after its start. The police escorted the girls out of the university and those who had been waiting to enjoy the night returned disappointed.

It has been learnt that Rs1.4 million were allocated for the arrangement of the prize distribution ceremony and the music show. Some of the prizes were distributed while the singers were paid Rs200,000 for singing only two songs.

The MPs and the deputy commissioner slipped away quietly from the place after seeing the hooliganism. The whole youth festival was allocated Rs10 million of which half was reserved for sports. Only one cricket match was played during the festival. When local mediapersons asked the sports officer for showing them bills for the events he had arranged he changed the topic and did not show details of the expenses.

None of the organisers of various functions was ready to divulge information about the funds they had spent.

UPGRADED: The assistant political agent of Orakzai Agency has upgraded the primary school at Khwajakhela IDPs camp in Hangu district to middle level. The APA Qaiser Khan visited the camp and issued the orders after inspecting facilities at the school.

Opinion

Editorial

Regional climbdown
04 Mar, 2026

Regional climbdown

WITH the region in flames, Pakistan must calibrate its foreign policy accordingly; it has to deal with some ...
Burning questions
Updated 04 Mar, 2026

Burning questions

BY most accounts, the protest was not massive. Nor was it unexpected. And yet, it ended in gruesome bloodshed. The...
Governance failure
04 Mar, 2026

Governance failure

BENEATH Lahore’s signal-free corridors and road infrastructure lies a darker truth: crumbling sewerage lines,...
Iran endgame
Updated 03 Mar, 2026

Iran endgame

AS hostilities continue following the Israeli-American joint aggression against Iran, there seems to be no visible...
Water concerns
03 Mar, 2026

Water concerns

RECENT reports that India plans to invest $60bn in increasing its water storage capacity on the Jhelum and Chenab...
Down and out
03 Mar, 2026

Down and out

ANOTHER Twenty20 World Cup, another ignominious exit — although this time Pakistan did advance past the first...