BARA: A tribal jirga on Saturday condemned the killing of two persons, who lost lives in a mortar shell attack in Shalobar area in Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency on Friday, and asked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor to honour the pledges made to the protesting tribesmen by Monday or else they would launch protest. About 18 members of the jirga led by one Maqbali Khan met at the Bagh-e-Naran in Hayatabad and asked the government to implement the agreement reached with tribesmen in order to normalise the situation in Bara. Jamaat-e-Islam Khyber Agency chapter’s head Shah Faisal Afridi, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leader Qismat Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Islam leaders Iqbal Afridi and Javed Afridi, Awami National Party leader Imran Afridi, Khyber Union President Haris Afridi, former senator Nasir Khan, former minister Malik Waris Khan Afridi and Tehreek-e-Mutasireen Khyber Agency Chairman Suhbat Khan Afridi attended the jirga. It was also decided that all the persons detained by the security forces and political administration in Bara would be released in 48 hours. The News.
BARA: The bullet-riddled body of a labourer was found in a private school building in Shalobar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency on Saturday, official and tribal sources said. The sources said that Muhammad Jamil,16, hailing from Qambarkhel Afridi tribe ,was the only bread winner for his family. He had had gone to Alamgudar for work three days back. His body, carrying bullet marks, was recovered from a private school building situated close to the newly established security checkposts in Mashomanu Adeera and Machin Dhand. Dozens of militants had attacked these checkposts last Monday in which seven personnel of the security forces were killed and 30 others were injured. The News.
HANGU: The militants fired a rocket at the police checkpost in Mamukhwar area on Saturday. However, it caused no loss of life. Talking to reporters, the District Police Officer Dr Saeed Ahmed Khan said that the militants fired a rocket at the police checkpost at Mamukhwar area in Thall tehsil. The shell landed near the building and caused no loss of life or property, he added. He said the police also returned the fire that continued for some time and in the meantime the security forces also reached the spot to back up the police force. He said that the search operation had been launched in the surrounding areas for the arrest of the accused but there was no arrest till filing of this report. The News.
CHARSADDA: A house was partially damaged in an explosion in Rehmat Koroona in Shabqadar tehsil the other day, police sources said. The sources said that explosive device planted by unidentified persons beside the house of Nabi Bacha in Rehmat Koroona went off at night, causing damage to the main entrance. After the blast, the police along with the bomb disposal unit reached the spot and collected pieces of evidence. The News.
LONDON: Opposition leader in the British parliament Ed Miliband has said that his party considered Pakistan an important regional ally and took interest in its affairs but would not interfere in its internal politics. Speaking to The News at the Regent Park Mosque’s Islamic Cultural Centre where the Labour leader, who is campaigning hard to become the next prime minister of Britain, said his party wanted a “stable, democratic and strong Pakistan” and recognised that the war in Afghanistan had had destabilising affects on Pakistan. Miliband said that he supported British government’s stance that the British troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 but “will ensure that they leave behind a stable and secure Afghanistan”.
When asked about the failures of the Nato forces to bring peace after more than 10 years of war and the fact that Taliban control some parts of Afghanistan and have emerged as a definite local force, Miliband said he supported dialogue with the Taliban and all other forces in Afghanistan. The News.
PESHAWAR: Unknown miscreants blew up with explosives a Girls’ Primary School in Badabair, an area in the suburbs of the provincial capital, police said on Saturday. According to details, the miscreants planted explosives near the main gate of the school in Village Mashoo Khel and detonated it with a remote-controlled device. Two rooms of the school were damaged completely while the blast also affected some sections of the school building. No loss of life has been reported so far. Police have started a probe. The News, Daily Times.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
