KOHAT: Deputy commissioner Dr Azamatullah Wazir has directed the National Highway Authority and the contractor of the Kohat Friendship Tunnel to immediately repair or replace the faulty exhaust fans to provide ease of travel to the passengers.

He issued the directives during a meeting with NHA officials and the contractor of the 1.9 kilometre-long tunnel here on Friday.

Commuters have long been complaining about suffocation while travelling through the tunnel Mr Wazir also ordered making functional the recovery vehicle, the fire brigade and CCTV cameras to provide smooth journey to the commuters. He said as per the contract, the fire hydrant system along with fire pump must be kept in good condition round the clock.

GANG BUSTED: The Hangu police busted a three-member gang of agents, who used to send Afghans on Pakistani computerised national identity cards and passports illegally to Saudi Arabia and also held three refugees from outside the office of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) here on Friday.

SHO city police station Fayyaz Khan told journalists the three Afghans, identified as Gul Aziz, Shahab and Masood, had recently crossed into Pakistan illegally. He said they had struck a deal to pay Rs2.1 million to their agents to be sent abroad.

He said the police conducted the raid on a tip-off that a gang from Kurram tribal district, which was involved in the illegal practice of sending people abroad, was present at the Nadra office. He identified the agents as Momin Khan, Tariq Ali and Wali Khan.

He said during preliminary investigation, the Afghans told them that they paid the money to the agents after reaching Saudi Arabia. They also revealed that the head of the agents’ gang was Qasim, also an Afghan refugee, who ran his office in the Karkhano market of Peshawar.

SHO Fayyaz said a case was registered against all the six accused.

SEALED: Additional assistant commissioner Saad Munir and district drug inspector Irfan Wazir sealed four medical stores on Friday, and booked the owners for running the facilities illegally.

The officials took the action during an inspection visit to Dhodha Sharif and Baqizai bazaars.

They also took samples of medicines from the medical stores and sent them for laboratory test, according to a statement issued here.

Separately, officials of the district administration and public health department on Friday fumigated a house and its surroundings after a dengue patient recently arrived in Gandiali Bala area here from Lahore.

The team also conducted dengue larvae surveillance of the adjacent areas and detected nothing.

They informed people about precautionary measures against the deadly disease.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2023