TAXILA: At least two people lost their lives after their car overturned on the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) near the Burhan Interchange in Attock.

According to the police, the vehicle’s driver lost control due to speeding near the Burhan Interchange and had an accident.

Sources said Shahzad Ahmed, along with his friend Usman Saqib, both residents of Swabi, were going towards Islamabad from Swabi in his car when he lost control due to speeding and it turned turtle near Pathargarh, killing both on the spot.

Rescue 1122 shifted the bodies to the tehsil headquarters hospital and later the bodies were handed over to their heirs after fulfilling medico-legal formalities.

Meanwhile, Hazro police on Sunday busted an inter-provincial gang of vehicle lifters, who allegedly killed a driver and made off with his vehicle.

A police spokesperson said 60-year-old Naeem Akhter made a living through a rented Suzuki van.

On November 24, he was hired by five men posing as passengers from Havelian for a ride to Peshawar.

On the way to their destination, they shot the driver dead, snatched his vehicle and dumped his body in a hilly area near the Haroon village in the limits of the Hazro police station.

The spokesperson said that the police collected evidence through digital intelligence and CCTV footage at entry and exit points of toll plazas and busted the gang.

Police recovered a snatched vehicle and weapon used in the alleged crime based on information provided by the suspects.

The investigation is in progress to link more incidents and nab other gangs involved, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2025