Constable gunned down

BANNU, June 12: Unknown assailants opened fire on a constable, Muneer, who was on duty at the government high school No 2, injuring him critically. The constable was taken to DHQ hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, the hujra of former MPA Syed Hameed Shah was partially damaged as explosive device planted near the main gate went off in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Unknown miscreants planted improvised explosive device (IED) at the main gate of the hujra (guesthouse) of former MPA Syed Hameed Shah at the Miranshah road, some 5km from Bannu city, which went off with a bang at 12:45 am destroying the gate of the hujra.

However, no causality was reported, the police said. —Correspondent

Importance of family planning

PESHAWAR, June 12: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Population Welfare Saleem Khan on Tuesday sought the help of ulema and religious scholars to clear misunderstanding and create awareness among public about importance of family planning, intervals in childbirth and ill effects of high population.

Addressing a seminar organised by the population welfare department here, he said population explosion was one of the major causes creating social evils like poverty, unemployment and inflation that were negatively affecting the development of many countries, including Pakistan.

Mr Saleem urged civil society to support government in combating this alarming issue as it has direct impact on ‘our socio-economic conditions and future of our children’.

The minister said his department was working tirelessly to control population growth rate by providing required services to people but the efforts would not bear desired results unless cooperation of ulema and civil society was available.

Noted religious scholar, Maulana Saeed-ur-Rehman Haqqani termed family planning as a precautionary measure, saying it was also underway in other Islamic countries with no harms.—APP

Security equipment

PESHAWAR, June 12: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has constituted a committee to ensure that supply of security equipments to prisons in the province is in accordance with samples and required specification approved by the tender evaluation committee. The committee will inspect the security equipment at the time of delivery to prisons department and will also check whether the supplied security equipment are in tune with the samples and specifications approved by the relevant authorities. The committee comprises deputy secretary (development and finance) in the home and tribal affairs department as its chairman, while deputy director (information technology) of home department, deputy director prisons department and section officer (development ) of the home department are its members. —Bureau Report

Welfare of suffering humanity

PESHAWAR, June 12: Chairman, Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, Dr Sher Mohammad Khan on Tuesday lauded the services of late Ms Marie Mallam for the suffering humanity. Ms Marie Mallam remained an active member of the managing body of Indian Red Cross, KP branch, in 1940s. After laying wreath near the plaque erected in the memory of Ms Marie Mallam in St. John’s Church in Peshawar Cant, Dr Sher urged the younger generation to follow her footsteps of helping the vulnerable people. Dr Sher said Ms Mallam had rendered humanitarian services for the vulnerable people, especially for women and children of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said Ms Marie Mallam had established child and maternity welfare centres in the province and one such centre was still run by PRCS in Kohat. —Bureau Report

Contractors want rates revised

KARAK, June 12: The contractors association, Karak chapter, has asked for new schedule rates for the developmental works in view of the prevailing price hike. The demand was made by the district president of the association Hassan Badshah and the members of his cabinet at a press conference here on Tuesday. He added the government was giving the schedule rates of 2009 to the contractors as it had not made any increase in the rates of the materials used in the uplift projects. He claimed the rates of the materials used in developmental works had been increased manifold. The contractors’ leader demanded that the rates of the materials should be revised according to the prevailing price hike to ensure qualitative and quantitative maintenance of projects. He threatened that if no heed was paid to their demand they would stop work on the ongoing developmental projects. —Correspondent

‘ANP prioritising education’

PESHAWAR, June 12: The Information and Culture Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on Tuesday that the ANP-led provincial government was giving top priority to education, as it had established eight universities and their campuses in just over four years against nine universities set up in the past 60 years. He expressed these views at a ceremony to hand over key of a bus to Islamia College Peshawar for Women here. The Vice-Chancellor of Islamia College University Dr Haider Shah Jadoon and Principal Islamia College Peshawar for Women Dr Madiha Azhar thanked the minister for donating bus for the college, also demanding a girl hostel for the college. The minister assured to get the hostel constructed. Mian Iftikhar said establishment of Islamia College Peshawar was a great service to the Pakhtun nation that had produced people of high caliber and stature who were serving on different key positions in the country.—APP