TIMERGARA: A man, who went missing when he was four years old, has been reunited with his family after 22 years in Samar Bagh area here.

The family of Khan Zarin of Sara Dherai village was overjoyed after meeting with Lal Zada, the lone son of Zarin.

According to villagers, Lal Zada’s mother along with her child had fled home when he was only four years old.

Zarin, who also has nine daughters, told reporters that he came to know later that the child’s mother had died, but that unknown human traffickers had sold his child to Afghan shepherds in Quetta, Balochistan.

The Samar Bagh police had registered a case about missing of the child 22 years ago.

Khan Zarin said a jirga comprising local elders went to Quetta and persuaded the Afghan shepherds to free the youth.

He claimed that the shepherds confessed to buying the child from some Pakhtuns 22 years ago.

Local residents said the family celebrated return of the youth by distributing sweets among their neighbours.

“My captors kept telling me that I was an orphan,” Lal Zada said on the occasion, adding he grew up grazing a flock of goat and sheep.

SERVICE STRUCTURE: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa secondary schoolteachers association (SSTs) has demanded of the government to issue notification of their service structure and time-scale formula as per a resolution passed in the provincial assembly.

The demand was made at a meeting of the association chaired by its provincial chairman Abdul Khaliq.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khaliq said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had unanimously passed a bill approving their service structure and time-scale formula five months ago.

He said the directorate of education and bureaucracy had been delaying the matter, causing unrest among teachers.

The meeting also demanded filling of subject specialists’ posts through departmental promotion, and increase in charge allowance for school heads.

The teachers threatened to hold demonstrations across the province if their demand was not met.

SHOPS LOOTED: Eight shops were looted in Shontala area of Samar Bagh on Sunday night, shopkeepers told police on Monday.

They said thieves broke locks of their shops and made off with cash and other valuables. They demanded of the police to arrest the thieves without delay.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2015

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