DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A protest rally was held in Tank against the alleged unavailability of anti-venom vaccine at the Civil Hospital following the death of a young man due to snakebite on Wednesday.

The rally was organised by the Pashtun Student Federation and it marched from city campus Tank to Civil Hospital Tank in which students, political and social elders and a large number of local residents participated.

According to protesters, the youth was shifted to the hospital after being bitten by a snake a few days ago, but he could not survive as anti-snake venom was not available at the hospital.

The incident triggered anger across the area, with residents accusing the hospital administration of negligence and failure to provide basic emergency medical facilities.

Demonstrators say precious life lost due to unavailability of vaccine

The demonstrators, along with the victim’s family, raised slogans against the hospital administration and demanded immediate availability of life-saving medicines and essential healthcare facilities in public hospitals to prevent such incidents in future.

They also called for strict legal action against those responsible for the alleged negligence, saying the officials involved should be held accountable so that no more precious lives were lost due to administrative failures.

Speakers at the protest said negligence in the health sector could not be tolerated and warned that if their demands were not met, the scope of the protest would be expanded.

FATHER KILLED SON: Police on Wednesday claimed to have solved mystery of the body of a minor boy found in the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) on April 17, saying the child was allegedly murdered by his own father following a domestic dispute.

According to police, unidentified body of the child was recovered from the canal and, as no heirs initially came forward, he was buried as an unclaimed body. The deceased was later identified as Muhammad Mehsud.

Addressing a press conference along with SHO Amjad Khan and Additional SHO Ismail Khan, DSP Asghar Ali Shah said investigators used CCTV footage and modern investigation techniques to trace the suspect.

He said the accused, identified as Din Muhammad Mehsud, a resident of Upper South Waziristan, allegedly threw his minor son Muhammad into the canal in the presence of his other young son.

Initial investigation suggested that the incident stemmed from a family dispute. Police said the accused had divorced his wife around nine years ago while she was pregnant. The woman reportedly belongs to the Wazir tribe, while the accused belongs to the Mehsud tribe.

According to investigators, a jirga decision on April 16 had handed custody of the child to the father. However, police alleged that the suspect killed the boy the following day to hurt his ex-wife.

A case has been registered on the complaint of the divorced wife under Section 302 and other relevant provisions of law.

Police said the accused would be produced before a court, while further investigation was underway.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026