KOHAT: A girl child and a man were injured when stray bullets hit them in Togh Bala union council on the Rawalpindi Road and in the city during festive firing here on Friday, the police and residents said.

The festive firing occurred despite a ban imposed by deputy commissioner Azmatullkah Wazir on the firing in air on the Chand Raat and Eid days.

The police rounded up 25 suspects after the incident occurred in Togh Bala union council. Later, an FIR was registered against unknown persons.

Chairman of Togh Bala Jirga Dr Inaam Khan said that seven-year-old Aisha was playing in the courtyard of her house in Mohallah Samikhel when she was hit by a stray bullet. He said that the child’s father took her to the KDA Teaching Hospital, where she was operated upon and bullet was removed from her elbow.

Similarly, a man, namely Hafeezullah, was reciting the Holy Quran in the courtyard of a mosque in Mohallah Garhi Atta Khan when a bullet penetrated his shoulder.

He was taken to a hospital, where doctors after examining his X-Ray report, decided not to take out the bullet from his body as the bullet was lying close to his heart. He was discharged from the hospital after being given first aid.

The civil society blasted the district administration for failing to implement the Section 144 as incidents of injuries caused by stray bullets increased on the Chand Raat and Eid days.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023