KOHAT: The residents of Gumbat and Togh Bala here have formed committees to help curb sale of ice drug and increasing robbery and theft incidents.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at a mosque in Garhi Mawaz Khan area on Monday. Residents of Mundan, Atta Khan, Banoorian and Dhodhewal Garhi Jaats attended the meeting.

The participants also decided that a delegation would meet the Kohat division police chief to apprise him about the rising crime rate, including robberies and thefts.

They also demanded deployment of an Ababeel Rider Squad, police patrolling, and construction of police posts for establishing peace in the region.

They also demanded installation of streetlights from Garhi Jaat Square up to Kalo Banda Square. They said theft of motorcycles and looting of people at gunpoint was rampant, putting a question mark on the performance of the police.

Meanwhile, unknown persons shot dead a youth in Kaghazai area here on Monday, the police said.

The deceased was identified as Hazrat Bilal.

A team of Rescue 1122 shifted the body to the KDA Teaching Hospital for autopsy.

In a separate incident, a motorcyclist, Ibraheem was injured after his bike collided with an ambulance in Gumbat tehsil.

Rescue 1122 said he was taken to KDA Hospital, wherefrom doctors referred him to Hayatabad Medical Complex Hospital, Peshawar.

Meanwhile, a trailer turned upside down on a hilly track in Darra Adamkhel tribal subdivision on Monday, injuring its driver and suspending traffic on the road, which is mostly used by truckers as heavy vehicles are not allowed through the Kohat tunnel.

Chief traffic warden Faheem Bangash told Dawn that the road was reopened to traffic after hay from the overturned trailer was shifted to other trucks.

He said the trailer driver, Qaisar Abbas belonging to Sahiwal, fell asleep, which resulted in the accident.

He said hay was being brought from Sadiqabad in Punjab to Peshawar.

He said the injured was shifted to KDA Teaching Hospital, Kohat. He said the driver’s assistant, Mohammad Aslam remained unhurt.

Many oil tankers and overloaded vehicles have met accidents while negotiating the hilly track, also called the old Indus Highway, causing deaths, injuries and incurring losses on truck owners.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2023