BAJAUR: Two children died and eight people fell ill after the suspected outbreak of gastroenteritis in Utmankhel tehsil of Bajaur district, health officials and locals said here on Thursday.

They said that the infection broke out in Bandagi area, located along Bajaur-Lower Dir border, on Wednesday night, leaving two girls dead and eight people affected.

The district health officer, Dr Gohar Ayub, told this scribe that a team of experts was dispatched to the locality after reports about gastroenteritis outbreak appeared on social media. The team, led by Dr Mohammad Arifullah, visited Bandagi village and detected 10 cases with a history of acute watery diarrhoea, including two deaths, he added.

He said that the deceased children, both girls, were identified as Alisha, 8, and Pakeza, 4, saying other patients also belonged to the same family. He said that eight patients, most of them children up to eight years, were given primary treatment at the site. They were later shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar for advanced care, he added.

However, the official said that it was premature to confirm the disease as laboratory investigations were yet to establish the source of infection. “Reports circulating on social media regarding gastroenteritis or diarrhoea are yet to be confirmed as the investigation team has not found any source of the disease in water samples,” he said.

He said that all affected people, except Alisha, developed symptoms of diarrhoea accompanied by vomiting. He added that a survey of nearby households did not identify any other individual with similar symptoms.

He said that the visiting team also conducted awareness sessions for residents on preventive measures against acute diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. He said that arrangements were made to ensure free treatment of the affected people at Lady Reading Hospital.

PTI: The local leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Arang area of Utmankhel tehsil on Thursday accused the local MPA of ignoring the area in development projects and warned of a protest movement if promised schemes were not launched immediately.

Addressing a news conference at Bajaur Press Club, Murad Sajid and Mohammad Nazeer alleged that several development schemes in Arang, inaugurated by MPA Ajmal Khan and former MNA Guldad Khan in 2019, were facing delays.

“People of Arang supported both Ajmal Khan and his brother Guldad Khan in the 2018 elections on the promise of launching several development schemes in this backward region. Unfortunately, both brothers have ignored the area in their schemes,” they said.

They said that most of the projects announced in 2019 were yet to be launched properly. They also criticised close associates of the MPA and contractors for not taking them into confidence about the utilisation of funds and the status of pending schemes.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2026