KOHAT, June 17: Unidentified gunmen fired upon a passenger van coming from Rawalpindi in Kacha Pakha area on Hangu Road late last night, killing a policeman and wounding three persons who were traveling in it.

Authorities here said the dead man Arshad Mehmood was an official of Rescue 15 unit of Hangu police. Injured Javed and Talib also belonged to Hangu while van driver Inayat was the third person injured in the shooting.

Police have registered a case against unknown men for the attack.

But a local official suspected the attack was the handiwork of a criminal group whose head Balo Mian was killed last week in a police encounter.

Meanwhile, the Hangu administration has closed the main Parachinar Road near the Police College and FC headquarters following rumours of a threat of suicide attack.

NGO ASKED TO LEAVE HOSPITAL:

Doctors and paramedics have set a one week deadline for the Khidmat-i-Khalq Organisation, an NGO, to vacate four rooms of the emergency ward of women and children hospital, Kohat.

In this regard a meeting was held at the KDA hospital with Dr Ibne Ali in the chair. Speaking on the occasion, Paramedics Association president Rashid Bokhari said that the provincial secretary health during his recent visit had directed the administration and the NGO president, Mohammad Khan, who was an Afghan refugee, to vacate the four occupied rooms within one week.

He said that the district headquarters hospital's MS also sent a written orders to the NGO in this regard, but Mr Khan refused to obey the orders.

Mr Bokahri said that in the prevailing conditions the injured of the blasts could not be accommodated in the emergency and to create space it was essential that the NGOs, including the Khidmat-i-Khalq, should leave the hospital premises immediately.

He alleged that Afghan refugees had turned the rooms into a hujra (guesthouse) and used to spend nights there illegally. He said that if the NGOs leave the hospital rooms it would benefit the patients and the hospital could be able to generate revenue through allotment of private rooms.

When contacted, KKO president said that he had been running the welfare oganisation for the past several years with the active support of the local philanthropists. He claimed that he had been providing free medicines, blood and ambulance service to poor patients. He said that they also arranged tests for poor patients with the help of international organisations.

He urged the doctors to let him continue helping the poor patients.