KOHAT, June 10 In view of increasing attacks by militants, 35 new checkposts manned by anti-terrorist squads have been established and latest communication system has been installed at sensitive points of the district.

The measures were ordered by Kohat region Deputy Inspector General of Police Mohammad Idrees Khan.

Special material has been used in construction of the checkposts for the safety of the staff, which can reduce the damage caused by rocket attacks by 50 per cent.

A press release issued by the police media cell said bullet proof vehicles had also been provided at the checkposts for use in encounters with militants.

SEWER LINE The Christian community of the district has expressed anger over diversion of a sewer line towards their graveyard and called upon the administration to take action against those involved in the act.

Their representatives told journalists on Wednesday that due to the diversion of the sewer line many graves in the Gora Qabristan had caved in, which needed immediate repair. Standing water, they said, was also causing damage to other graves.

Minority's councillor Pervez Sardar, Babu Munawar, Sabir Bhatti, Shehbaz Masih and Gabriel Johnson claimed that the watchman of the graveyard had opened an illegal slaughter house inside the Gora Qabristan and was also cutting and selling precious trees. They also criticised delay in allotment of more land for the graveyard.

They warned of protest if their problems were not resolved.

JUDICIARY The district judiciary decided 3,159 cases last month, as per recommendation of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee for providing speedy justice to people.This was informed at a monthly meeting of judicial officers presided over by district and sessions judge Shah Jehan Akhunzada on Wednesday. The meeting also set target of cases to be heard in June.

Mr Akhunzada said that at the level of district and sessions judge, 519 cases were decided, in the courts of judicial magistrates, 2,071 were decided and civil judges decided 569 in May. At the start of May, there were 9,076 cases and 1,370 new cases were filed, taking the total number to 10,446, of which 3,159 were decided.

TRANSFORMER Electricity gadgets worth millions of rupees were destroyed when a transformer caught fire in the Lachi grid station due to overload on Wednesday.

The fire soon engulfed other machinery and repeated blasts were heard inside the grid station that supplies electricity to dozens of villages along the Indus Highway.

Fire tenders were rushed to the site to control the blaze, which was extinguished after two hours when the transformer and feeder had been burnt completely.