MANSEHRA: The counterterrorism department arrested 14 Afghan students in a raid on a seminary in Chaterplan area of Mansehra on Monday night.

A team of CTD led by deputy superintendent of police Azeem Khan raided Darul Uloom Madrassah-i-Toheedul Ashatul Quran-o-Sunnah in Chaterplan and arrested 14 Afghan students for illegal staying in the area.

The arrested students were shifted to Peshawar, said Azeem Khan, adding that the students and seminary administration could not produce any legal documents for their stay in the country. He said that such raids would continue to see if any seminary had illegally staying Afghan students enrolled on their register.

The Hazara police have launched crackdown against foreign nationals, including Afghans staying illegally in the division, in the wake of the terrorist attack on Army Public School, Peshawar, last month.

LEVY PERSONNEL SACKED: The Torghar deputy commissioner has terminated services of six personnel of Torghar Levies and suspended another four for absenting duty for last many months.

DC Sanaullah Khan issued the termination orders of Mohammad Roze, Zareen Said, Gul Said, Fazal Nayyab, Sarzameen and Yousuf Jamal after they couldn’t report to their concerned department in stipulated period.

Four other personnel were also suspended to explain their position as to why they were absent from duty, said the sources.

LOADSHEDDING: The prolonged and unscheduled loadshedding has paralyzed routine life in the city and its suburbs. Mansehra city and its adjoining areas had been witnessing 14 hours of loadshedding for the last couple of months, but following the recent shortfall in the production, the duration increased to over 16 hours.

Though every sphere of life has been affected by the excessive loadshedding, the traders are the worst sufferers.

“The federal government has failed on all fronts as long queues of vehicles are seen outside fuel stations because of shortages of CNG and petrol. And now the traders sitting idle at their shops because of power blackouts,” said Hafiz Ijazur Rehman, president of the local traders’ body.

He said that if power outage continued traders of the whole of Hazara division would observe shutter down strike. He said that the PML-N government should fulfill its pre-election commitments made with the people and end the prolonged and unscheduled power outages otherwise people would come onto roads. Mr Rehman said that municipal committee suspended water supply to consumers in the city and its suburbs every now and then.

Meanwhile, the traders body announced to observe complete shutter down in Mansehra on Friday to protest against the publication of blasphemous caricatures in a French magazine. The decision was taken at a meeting on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn January 21st , 2015

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