MANSEHRA: The police on Sunday enhanced security of energy projects being executed in the Balakot tehsil of Mansehra district.

“We have enhanced multilayer security of Chinese nationals working on power projects in parts of the district,” DPO Shafiullah Khan Gandapur told reporters after visiting Suki Kinari and Balakot hydropower projects along with deputy commissioner Adnan Khan Bittani,

The two projects are being built on the Kunhar River in the Kaghan Valley. Mr Gandapur told Chinese engineers and workers that police were taking extra measures for their safety.

“Your security is top priority for us as you are here for the prosperity and development of our country,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Bittani said the 880MW Suki Kinari hydropower project, which was going to start generation before the end of this year, would meet the electricity shortfall in the country.

The DC said the Sino-Pak friendship was time-tested and it was why Chinese nationals were playing a pivotal role in the execution of the mega energy projects in the country.

“We have set standard operating procedures under the National Action Plan for the safety of engineers and workers executing those energy projects in the district,” Mr Bittani said.

The Suki Kinari hydropower project is the only initiative being executed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

KILLED: A man killed his uncle over a family issue in Shahlia area here on Sunday.

Ali Zahid fired at Tahir Aziz when he was going for shopping, leaving him seriously injured.

The locals rushed the injured to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

The body was handed over to the family after postmortem.

Meanwhile, a man, Mohammad Zahid, was killed and his brother, Sheeraz, sustained critical injuries when a mini truck fell into a ravine near the Babusar Top in Kaghan Valley.

The truck carrying chicken was on its way to Gilgit. Zahid, who was driving the vehicle, lost control over it while negotiating a sharp turn, as a result, the truck fell off the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road and plunged into a ravine. Locals shifted the injured to the Civil Hospital in Naran, where doctors pronounced Zahid dead.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2024