KHYBER: Unidentified gunmen looted a private bank in the main Bara Bazaar on Tuesday.

Police said that a group of masked men, armed with pistols and automatic weapons, forcibly entered Bank Al-Habib and held the entire staff and security men hostage at gunpoint.

They said that the armed robbers then collected more than Rs10 million from bank lockers and fled.

Police said that after receiving information about the bank robbery, a police team immediately reached the spot and started investigations. They said that police obtained CCTV footages and started conducting raids to apprehend the culprits.

OFFICE BEARERS: Pastor Khurram Shehzad Masih and Arshad Masih were elected chairman and vice-chairman of Initiative for Sustainable Development (ISD), respectively, here the other day.

A five-member election committee headed by tehsil chairman Shah Khalid conducted the first-ever elections of the newly-formed ISD. Other office-bearers of the organisation include general secretary Shahzeb Khalid, finance secretary Aneela and press secretary Elimi Amber.

Pastor Khurram Shehzad said on the occasion that ISD was committed to expanding its activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a focus on establishing medical centres to provide quality healthcare services, particularly in underserved areas, to people.

He said that developing educational programmes to equip the next generation with knowledge and skills, implementing sustainable development projects to improve livelihoods through vocational training and micro finance support were also among the future goals of ISD.

Pastor Shehzad also said that provision of aid to communities affected by natural disasters and crises was also one of their objectives. He said that his organisation welcomed donors, NGOs, government agencies and individuals, who shared its mission to collaborate on sustainable projects.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025