MANSEHRA: Two people were killed and 24 others, including women and children, sustained critical injuries when a wagon carrying participants of a wedding procession skidded off the road and plunged into a deep ravine in Balakot on Saturday.

A Rescue 1122 official said that the vehicle was travelling from Datta to Kaith Serash area when the driver lost control over it.

Rescue workers, assisted by locals, moved the deceased and the injured to a hospital in Balakot, wherefrom doctors referred the critically injured to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, Mansehra.

The deceased included a minor boy.

Local MPA Munir Hussain Lughmani visited the hospital, and directed the staff to provide quality care to the injured.

The police have registered a case and started an investigation.

JOURNALISTS’ WELFARE: Chief minister’s adviser on information Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif on Sunday urged youth and journalists to wage a “jihad” against ideological warfare being fought by enemies of Pakistan through social media platforms.

“This war is not for our army alone to fight. It is you, the journalists and our nation, who must counter the propaganda launched by hostile forces on social media,” he said while addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the Mansehra Press Club’s newly-elected body.

KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI’s provincial deputy president Kamal Saleem Swati, divisional deputy president Taimur Saleem Swati, and MPA Sardar Mohammad Riaz also attended the event.

Mr Saif administered the oath to the new office-bearers, led by president Shahzad Jehangiri and general secretary Fakhar-i-Alam.

“No army in the world can confront its enemies in the streets. It is the journalists’ fraternity that safeguards a nation’s ideological boundaries and counters propaganda aimed at weakening it politically and economically,” Mr Saif remarked.

The CM aide said the KP government was committed to journalists’ welfare, adding: “We have evolved a comprehensive strategy to provide media colonies, educational scholarships, and health and other facilities for members of every press club in the province.”

On the occasion, Kamal Saleem and Taimur Saleem highlighted that the provincial government was working under the vision of PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan to address socioeconomic challenges.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2025