GILGIT, April 1: The Northern Areas administration on Monday released 16 people belonging to two religious groups who were detained on March 5 allegedly for taking part in a protest rally on Feb 27 here.

The protest procession was taken out to condemn the killing of nine people in Imambargah of Karachi. They were detained under 16 MPO and shifted to Gilgit jail. They have been freed as result of the compromise between the leaders of two conflicting groups.

CHILDREN’S WARD: The Northern Areas force commander Maj Gen Nadeem Ahmed opened children block on Monday at District Headquarters Hospital Gilgit. Briefing the FCNA, the medical superintendent of the hospital Mr Akram Qureshi said the new block had been equipped with the state-of-the-art machinery and laboratories.