ISLAMABAD: The federal government is looking for a successor to the newly-appointed Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) Governor Engineer Shaukatullah Khan, as he is facing intense questioning about his legibility for the slot. Federal Law and Justice Minister Farook H Naek dashed to Lahore after President Asif Ali Zardari summoned him there. The president had appointed the new governor on the advice of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. Governor Engineer Shaukat has lost both the ministerial position and berth in the National Assembly and would not be able to contest for any public office for two years after quitting the office. Well-placed sources told The News that Senator Abbas Khan Afridi, who has been made Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), was the first choice for the office of the governor but he was dropped at the eleventh hour paving the way for Engineer Shaukatullah. The News.
PESHAWAR: Taking suo moto notice of the target killings, especially of the Shia community, in the provincial metropolis and police torture on a lawyer, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan on Tuesday summoned the police high-ups and provincial secretary home on February 14, directing them to explain their position before the court. The chief justice took notice of target killings and police torture on senior lawyer after senior lawyers committee headed by Peshawar High Court Bar Associations (PHCBA) president Abdul Lateef Afridi met him at his chamber and submitted an application requesting him to take suo moto notice of the target killings and police torture on a senior lawyer. The News, The Frontier Post.
BARA: Six militants were killed and four others injured in fresh fighting between the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Ansarul Islam (AI) in Maidan area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency on Tuesday, tribal sources said.The sources said that fighters of the TTP based at upper Orakzai Agency attacked a hilltop in Bhutan area of Maidan early Tuesday and captured the position from the AI.However, the volunteers of AI recaptured it after an exchange of fire. The News, The Frontier Post, The Nation.
WASHINGTON: In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night President Barack Obama intends to announce return of more than half of US troops from Afghanistan over the next 12 months. The Washington Post reported that The US president’s decision “ to remove 34,000 of the 66,000 U.S. troops in the country by this time next year “ speeds the pace of withdrawal that top military commanders had been seeking, according to U.S. officials briefed by senior officers involved in the war.The officers, including Gen. John R. Allen, who relinquished command of the war Sunday, had favored a reduction of no more than 25,000 troops this year, leaving about 40,000 in Afghanistan in 2014 to continue training local security forces and provide security for the country’s next presidential election, which is scheduled for April 2014. The News, The Nation, The Frontier Post.
BARA: On the request of Afridi Jirga, the political administration Khyber Agency Tuesday freed six more tribesmen arrested by security forces during Bara operation. Talking to the members of jirga, Political Agent Khyber Agency Mutahir Zeb said over 30 prisoners had been released by political administration on the request of jirga, adding more inmates involved in minor cases would be freed according to the list furnished by representatives of the Afridi Jirga. Responding to a demand made by the jirga, the PA said that residents of Takhtaki area, uprooted by the on-going clashes between militants groups in Tirah valley, would be registered as internally displaced persons. The News.
KHAR: The paramedical staff at the Agency Headquarters Hospital Tuesday threatened to boycott the anti-polio immunisation drive if two officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO) were not expelled from Bajaur Agency. Led by the association chairman Ghulam Hazrat, the paramedics staged protest and chanted slogans against Dr Sher Khan and Dr Shaukat Zia. They alleged that the WHO officials were not performing their duties but were creating hurdles for the paramedics by initiating action against local health staff, which they termed as illegal. The News.
MARDAN: A classroom of the Government Postgraduate College Mardan was partially damaged in an explosion on Tuesday, police sources said. The sources said explosives planted by unidentified persons at the classroom in the Physics Department went off when the class-IV Ashfaq Khan came there to close the room after the class. The explosion partially damaged the room and smashed the windowpanes. However, there was no casualty. The police reached the spot after the explosion and collected pieces of evidence. The News, The Frontier Post, Daily Times.
HANGU: The bomb disposal unit (BDU) official defused an explosive device here on Tuesday. The sources said that unknown persons had planted explosives to the house of a trader Nadim in Sangarh locality in Hangu, which was spotted by locals. Two kilograms of explosives were fitted to a remote-control device. The News.
PESHAWAR: The political administration of Mohmand Agency has repaired and renovated three militancy-affected state-run primary and middle schools in Kharai Dara and Pampokha villages of Tehsil Ambar of the agency. These schools were badly destroyed by militant’s activities in the area. A press release issued by FATA Secretariat stated that the students of these schools were lacking basic education facilities and a favorable environment. To encourage students and ensure them best learning environment, the administration has rehabilitated two classrooms, two washrooms, verandah and boundary wall in Government Primary School, Kharai Dara Village. The school was white washed, renovated besides fixing new doors and windows in it. Government Middle School (GMS) in Kharai Dara was also rehabilitated by constructing three classrooms, two bathrooms, verandah and office for staff members. The Nation.
FRC REPORT
PARRACHINAR: Traders and the locals of Kurram Agency staged a demonstration on Tuesday in the agency’s central place Parrachinar against the prolonged power outages, FRC Field Reporter learnt. The demonstration was lead by Parrachinar trader’s union president Haji Kamal Hussian. While addressing the demonstrators he condemned the prolonged outages and demanded of the government to take immediate steps to overcome this problem. It is to mention here that the agency has been facing prolonged power outages of more than 22 hours on daily basis which has badly affected the traders besides the locals.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
