TIMERGARA: Lower Dir district development advisory committee chairman Saeed Gul on Monday said education was the biggest weapon against terrorism and ignorance and therefore, the people should educate their children.

He was addressing a meeting at the Government Primary School, Haya Serai, Maidan, after inaugurating the newly-constructed block on the premises.

The project was executed by the Parent Teachers’ Council on its own.

Deputy district education officer Mohammad Riaz, head teacher of the school Mubarak Jan and teacher leader Rahmani Mulk also spoke on the occasion.

The DDAC chief praised the PTC for ensuring the construction of the block at a cost of Rs2.4 million.

He said the committee had approved the construction of 502 additional rooms in government schools and boundary walls of 1,400 schools, and supply of drinking water to 770 schools in Lower Dir and that work on them was underway.

Mr. Gul said illiteracy and ignorance was the root causes of militancy and backwardness. He said the provincial government was committed to providing education to all children in the province and was striving to improve the existing educational system.

The DDAC chief said 1,200 teachers had been inducted in the education department.

He asked parents to cooperate with the education department and teachers to ensure the best possible education of their children.

PRE-POLL RIGGING: ANP leader and district councillor Malik Mohammad Zeb on Monday alleged the ruling Jamaat-i-Islami was trying to rig the upcoming tehsil council by-election in Toormang ward.

Mr. Zeb told reporters here that the JI ministers and lawmakers were distributing power transformers and poles among voters of Toormang I ward to win their support for the party’s candidate.

He said the people of Kandao, Bar Patay, Duab, Kamalkhel, Luqman Banda, Galkot and Addo villages had so far been provided with power transformers and poles.

The ANP leader said the JI lawmakers and provincial ministers were violating election rules and therefore, the Election Commission of Pakistan should take a note of such violations.

He also demanded the early holding of by-elections on three tehsil council seats in Lower Dir.BOY GOES MISSING: A local family has appealed to the people to help it find 16-year-old male member missing for around three months.

A relative told local reporters here that Khan Bahadar, a mentally challenged boy, had gone missing in Khall Bar Kalay area on Nov 11 last year.

He said the family searched for the boy at all the possible places, but to no avail.

The relative said anyone knowing about the boy’s whereabouts should contact the Khall police station in Lower Dir.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2016