LOWER DIR: An oil tanker driver and his assistant were burnt to death after the vehicle caught fire in Bandagai area of Talash here on Saturday night, the police said.

They identified the deceased as Islam Gul and Rohullah, both residents of Nowshera district.

The police and local people said the oil tanker caught fire after hitting a roadside electricity pole. They said the flames also damaged two adjacent shops and a seminary.

The residents said they heard an explosion after which the tanker caught fire.

Rescue 1122 firefighters put out the blaze after hectic effort of one and a half hours.

The bodies were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Timergara, and later dispatched to their home district.

The huge fire also damaged the electricity transmission line, suspending power supply to consumers of Talash, Bandagai and Dushkhel for over 20 hours.

The residents demanded of Peshawar Electric Supply Company to shift all the roadside electricity poles away from the main road to avoid such incidents in future.

The Talash police registered a case and started further investigations.

JOIN JUI-F: Scores of political workers on Sunday joined Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl during a function held in Saligram Rabat.

JUI-F village council chairman Maulana Nabi Shah and others spoke on the occasion.

Those who joined the JUI-F included Bakht Sher, Ikramullah, Hussainullah, Anwar Sher, Habibullah, Younus Khan, Jamshed, Maaz Khan, Haji Mohammad and others.

CONVENTION: Addressing a workers’ convention at Odigram, Awami National Party central spokesman Zahid Khan, Lower Dir president Haji Bahadar Khan and others said Pakhtuns’ blood was being shed in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as if they were terrorists.

The ANP leaders said the Bajaur suicide blast had revived the memories of the massacre of hundreds of peaceful protesters belonging to Khudai Khidmatgar movement in Babara, near Charsadda, on August 12, 1948.

On the occasion, Zahid Khan denied reports circulating on social media that he was going to join PML-N. He said he had recently met with ANP leaders Asfandyar Wali Khan and Aimal Wali Khan and they both had addressed his grievances.

The ANP leaders also condemned the May 9 and 10 riots and demanded that all the elements involved in the mayhem should be punished as per the law so no one could dare attack state institutions in future.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023