SWABI: The administration has ordered closure of more educational institutions in district after detection of coronavirus cases there.

A letter issued by Deputy Commissioner Shahid Mehmood here on Tuesday said that in pursuance of the reported cases of Covid-19 and keeping in view the recommendation of the district health officer, the administration ordered to close two schools under the policy of micro-lockdown for a minimum five days as authorised under the rules of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Epidemic Control and Emergency Relief Ordinance 2020 and with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) 2010.

Earlier a high school in Yar Hussain and three other schools in the district were closed due to detection of coronavirus cases.

For the first time a private school, Islamic Model School Manki, has been closed in the district. Earlier all the closed schools were government-run educational institutions. Three positive cases of the coronavirus were detected in the school after the district administration took the action.

The other institution is government higher secondary school (GHSS) Kabgani in Gadoon Amazai where two cases have been reported.

A teacher of one of the two closed schools, when contacted, said that it seemed that people would have to live with deadly virus and the micro-lockdown policy was the best option. “We appreciate the government policy,” said another teacher.

Meanwhile, police foiled an attempt to smuggle hashish to Punjab province through the Indus River on Tuesday.

Police said that a team of Tordher police station was on patrol when it was informed that a large quantity of hashish was being smuggled through the Indus River to Punjab.

Taking immediate action, police raided the area and recovered 5,620 grams of hashish, 102 grams of ice and a pistol with ammunition from the alleged smuggler, who had kept the contrabands in a plastic sack.

The alleged smuggler was identified as Zeeshan alias Shane, a resident of Tordher. Police said that Zeeshan was wanted in eight drug trafficking cases since 2014.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2020