PESHAWAR: Condemning the killing of provincial Law Minster Sardar Israrullah Khan Gandapur, the Khyber Palchtunkhwa government on Thursday approved the formation of a special anti-terrorism force to control the law and order situation in the province. The development came during a special meeting of the provincial cabinet here with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in the chair. Dawn.
KHAR: Bajaur Agency Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah has urged the tribal elders to keep a vigilant eye on the suspicious activities of miscreants in their area. The political agent said that the administration had fulfilled its responsibility of restoring peace and writ of the government in the region and now it was important for the locals to support the administration. Dawn.
KHAR: The security forces recovered and defused a mortar shell from the busy Inayat Killi by-pass road in Khar tehsil of Bajaur Agency .An official of the local administration told reporters that a search operation was carried out in the area after receiving information from the local people about the mortar shell planted on the roadside by unidentified miscreants. The officials said that if detonated, the mortar shell would have caused huge destruction. The official said that investigation in this regards has been initiated while no arrest had been made so for. Dawn.
KOHAT: cold drinks, spices and other items have flooded the local markets on the occasion of Eidul Azha and their sale is continuing without any check by the food department and administration. The prices of quality goods and spurious items were the same. This dirty business continues the whole year without any break, but during Eid days trucks full of fake soft drinks are sold in the name of national and international brands due to their high demand. Similarly, a popular brand of cigarettes was available at Rs100 per 10 packs against its original price of Rs900 at the agency. Sources said that most of the factories of fake items were operating in basements of houses in posh KDA Town and in Afghan refugee camps. Dawn.
PESHAWAR, Oct 18: Police foiled a possible sabotage attempt and defused a powerful explosive device in Hayatabad area. An official of Tatara police station said that the bomb had been planted on a roadside in Sector F5, but the police timely defused it after getting the information in this regard. The bomb, he said, weighed about three kilograms and was packed in a canister. He said it was a remote control device. The official said that police used to patrol regularly in the area and the possible target might be the local police Dawn.
KHAR: Three persons were killed over a property clash in Naraza area of Salarzai tehsil in Bajaur Agency. Residents of the area said that Dilwar and his son were passing near the house of Yusuf Khan when armed men of the Yousaf Khan group started indiscriminate firing on them. They said in the ensuing exchange of fire Dilwar and his son Fazal from Dilwar Khan group and Shed Mohammad of Yousaf Khan group were killed on the spot. Dawn.
FATA: Blaming militancy and the ‘ban’ on polio inoculations, a senior health department official said not a single child has been reached since 2009 in parts of Bara, Khyber Agency. The ban against polio vaccines was placed in 2012 in North and South Waziristan by Taliban commanders.Excluding parts of those three agencies, 727,317 children were vaccinated in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in 2013. A staggeringly high number of children – 163,000 – from North Waziristan have remained inaccessible. The Express Tribune.
PESHAWAR: After the total number of polio cases in the province and tribal areas hit 46, Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and FATA Secretariat officials justified the increase by blaming it on the usual suspects – law and order and negative propaganda. However, neither department offered much-needed solutions for what amounts to a polio crisis. The Express Tribune.
PESHAWAR: MNA and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has urged the government to immediately initiate talks with the Taliban in order to establish peace in the country. Clarifying his party’s stance, Bilour said ANP was in favour of dialogue with the Taliban and the process should begin without any delay. “The government should make serious efforts for the restoration of peace in Pakistan,” he said. The Express Tribune.
BANNU: The house of a police constable in Bannu was partially damaged when a bomb planted by unidentified militants went off. According to an official of Hawaid police station, militants planted a bomb along the boundary wall of the residence of Elite Force Constable Inamullah in Hasan Khel Kharki. He added the explosion took place in the early hours of. A case was filed against unidentified militants. The Express Tribune.
ISLAMABAD: “I got hold of the terrorist who attacked Malala Yousafzai”, said a schoolgirl in Swat. The words coming from an 11-year old caught me by surprise. Musfira Khan, a fifth grader was chatting with her friend during a stroll in her school’s lush green garden. Her words grabbed my attention and my entire focus shifted towards the little girl. “How did you manage to do that?” I asked. She replied with a smile, “In my dream… I dreamt that I had arrested him.” The Express Tribune.
PESHAWAR: Pakistan is no stranger to thalassemia, a serious blood disorder. According to the Hamza Foundation, over 8,000 children are born with thalassemia annually, and around 60 per cent of them are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Now, it seems, a new game changer in the form of a medicine known as Hydroxyurea, has emerged. The foundation reveals that over 25 patients have successfully gotten rid of their crippling, constant need for blood transfusions, while 140 sufferers now just need half the transfusions that they needed merely nine months ago. The Express Tribune.
