MANSEHRA: Five people, including two brothers, lost life in separate incidents in Upper Kohistan and Mansehra districts on Tuesday.

Three members of a family, including a woman, were killed after a car plunged into a deep ravine in Panibah area of Upper Kohistan.

The accident occurred as the driver lost control of the car on the Karakoram Highway due to speeding. The car was bound for Rawalpindi from Gilgit.

Imdad Hussain, Shehram Hussain and a woman, who were travelling in the car, succumbed to injuries on the way the civil hospital. The police sent the bodies to Nagar area for burial.

In another incident, rivals killed Mohammad Liaquat and Mohammad Gulzar in Safada area of Oghi tehsil.

The police registered an FIR and began raids to arrest the gunmen, who fled after the attack.

Also in the day, a jeep fell into the Kunhar River in Kaghan valley’s Khanian area after the suspension bridge collapsed.

All those riding the jeep, including brothers Mohammad Rafaqat and Mohammad Umar and their minor niece, Fizza, drowned in the river. The local divers fished out the body of Mohammad Rafaqat.

The Rescue 1122 also said its divers were carrying out search operation at different points of the river.

COURTS BOYCOTTED: The lawyers on Tuesday boycotted courts in Mansehra district against the police’s action against protesters in Lahore.

“We [lawyers] condemn the police’s violence against peaceful protesters and demand an immediate release of all those arrested in Lahore and other parts of the country,” president of the district bar association Bilal Khan told a meeting here.

He said the lawyers supported the call for the French ambassador’s expulsion.

The lawyers’ strike inconvenienced litigants, who showed up in courts from different parts of the district to attend hearings.

CHICKEN PRICE: The price of live broiler chicken reached a record high of Rs275 per kg in Mansehra city and outskirts on Tuesday.

Owner of a poultry shop Mohammad Azam said the unprecedented price hike had almost halved his sales.

He said the desi live bird was also selling at record Rs600 per kg against the routine price of Rs500.

Resident Mohammad Jibran criticised the administration over failure to control prices during Ramazan. He said though utility stores sold goods at subsidised rates, visitors had to stand in long queues while fasting.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2021