Two women die on road in Dir

UPPER DIR, June 20: Two women were killed and four others sustained injuries in a road accident near Government Degree College here on Wednesday.

Dir police officials said that the mishap occurred in the morning when the ill-fated Datsun pickup was carrying wedding guests from Kharwao village near Dir town to Doodba. The pick-up rammed in to a truck coming from the opposite direction near the government degree college.

As a result two women identified as Shahi Room Bibi and Rasheeda Begum hailing from Kharwao died on the spot and four suffered injuries. The injured were taken to DHQ Hospital Dir. —Correspondent

Free treatment for TB patients

ABBOTTABAD June 20: The government has launched free diagnostic and treatment centre for the patients afflicted with multi-drug resistant TB in Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad. The facility is second in the province after the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

In this connection, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed among the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP), KP TB Control Programme (PTP), Association for Community Development and Ayub Medical Complex Hospital at a ceremony held here the other day.

Under the agreement, the AMC will provide 20-bed ward for the patients of multi-drug resistant TB. The centre will provide treatment facilities to the patients with the technical support of NTP and PTP.

The second line drugs which are very costly will also be provided to the needy patients in this 24-month programme. —Correspondent

Ex-employees without pension

KARAK, June 20: The retired employees of district council Karak have complained that they have not received their pension for the last three months.

Qismat Gul representating retired employees told a press conference here on Wednesday that the district council had stopped their pension for the last three months due to ‘financial crunch’ in the department. They said that the monthly pension was the only source of income of the retired employees.

They added that they repeatedly visited the district council office in the hope of getting pension but the officials never bothered to resolve the issue. —Correspondent

Traders stage sit-in

CHARSADDA, June 20: The Charsadda traders staged a sit-in outside the DCO office and blocked the Charsadda-Nowshera Motorway link road here on Wednesday in protest against prolonged loadshedding.

After expiry of three-day deadline, hundreds of traders and businessmen held a protest rally which started from Farooq Azam Chowk and reached the DCO office where the protesters set up a hunger strike camp.

Addressing the rally, central leader of Muttahida Shopkeepers Association Hakeemulah Fauji said the traders were the worst sufferers of loadshedding which had ruined their businesses.

The protest included leaders of various small trade groups. Later, the rally was joined by the cross section of society. The protesters holding placards and banners demanded end to unscheduled power outages. —Correspondent

Two shot dead in Nowshera

NOWSHERA, June 20: Two people were killed over an old enmity in the Chowki Mamraiz area here on Wednesday.

Bilal Khan resident of Chowki Mamraiz while registering an FIR in Pabbi police station said that he and his brother Shaukat Ali were on their way to home when accused Naveed, resident Chowki Mamraiz, opened indiscriminate fire on them, killing Shaukat on the spot and injuring a passer-by, Ishfaq. He later died on the way to Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

The Pabbi police have registered a case and started investigation. —Correspondent

University budget approved

KOHAT, June 20: The annual budget of over Rs777 million of Kohat University of Science and Technology for fiscal year 2012-2013 was approved here on Wednesday

Of the total budget, about Rs4.357 million have been set aside for research work. The budget meeting was chaired by Kust Vice-Chancellor Dr Nasir Jamal Khattak. Higher Education Commission’s representative Prof Dr Younis Khattak, budget officer Jamshed Khan, Dr Wisal Ahmed, dean of physical sciences, and other officials attended the meeting.

The meeting allocated a sum of Rs683.261 million for non-development expenditure, Rs89.420 million for development spending with a deficit of Rs148.453 million. —Correspondent