LOWER DIR: Two children drowned in the Dir river on Friday after reportedly falling into the water while picking unripe plums near the river bank.

Rescue officials said one body was recovered on the spot, while the second child was retrieved near the Girls Degree College in an injured condition and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, where he died.

Funeral prayers for both were offered at the Government Sentinel Model School grounds.

Following the incident, the district administration imposed Section 144, banning people from visiting the riverbanks.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Jamaat-i-Islami activists on Friday staged a rally against inflated electricity bills, excessive taxes, unannounced loadshedding and poor mobile network services in the region. JI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, North, chief Inayatullah Khan led the rally.

The participants carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the government and cellular companies.

Addressing the protesters, Inayatullah Khan, JI district chief Maulana Asadullah Khan and general secretary Shoaib Ahmad criticised the federal and provincial governments for ‘failing’ to mitigate the sufferings of the people.

They said that despite producing around 7,000 megawatts of electricity, the residents of the Malakand region were facing prolonged outages and were paying inflated bills.

They said the country’s total electricity generation stood at around 40,000MW, while consumption in June was about 28,000MW, yet consumers were being charged nearly Rs93 per unit.

Inayatullah said that the JI would organise 100 public gatherings across the country as part of its ‘Badlo Nizam’ campaign.

He said major public meetings would be held in Upper Dir on May 3 and in Timergara on May 17, where the party would outline its future political strategy.

Meanwhile, speaking at a separate gathering in Rabat, Inayatullah said that despite being in power for over a decade, the PTI government had failed to improve governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleging widespread corruption and mismanagement.

Political figures, including Izzat Gul and Ahmad Sadiq, announced their joining the JI along with their supporters.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026