KHAR: Police on Wednesday foiled a sabotage bid by defusing a bomb in Nawagai tehsil.

A police official told reporters that the bomb was defused by the personnel of Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) in Goda gail area.

Following information about the presence of a suspicious device in the area, the official said that BDS personnel were dispatched to the locality. He claimed that the bomb could have caused huge destruction in the area if the action was not taken immediately. The official said it was the fifth bomb having been defused during the current month.

MOTORCYCLES IMPOUNDED: The authorities have impounded scores of motorcycles for violating a ban on bike riding in Bajaur tribal district, police officials said on Wednesday.

They said that the action was taken after motorcyclists violated a ban on bike riding during the Eid days. They said that the motorcycles had been seized from different areas during an action launched on the first day of Eid.

The officials pointed out that teenagers riding the motorcycles had ignored the restriction, forcing the police to launch the action.

A senior police official in Khar said that they had properly informed the people across the district about the ban on bike riding a day before the Eid. However, he said the motorcyclists did not take the restriction seriously.

The official said that over 100 road accidents had occurred during the last Eid, most of them involving motorbikes.

However, the residents expressed concern over the ban on motorcycle riding during the Eid days. They termed the restriction unjustified and violation of basic human rights.

They argued that Bajaur was the only district in the country where the administration had banned motorcycle riding.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2020