UPPER DIR, July 1: A six-year-old girl was killed and three other children were injured in two blasts in the border area of Upper Dir, police said on Sunday.

They said that six-year-old Sadida was killed in the first blast while Waqar, Hazrat Omar and Farid were injured in the second blast in Chapatrara area in Barawal.

Two of the injured children were shifted to Peshawar in serious condition. They said that one of the injured children lost his leg in the blast.

The residents of the area said that the incident could be a result of a family feud. They said that the blasts were caused by explosives planted near a house. They ruled out firing of mortar shells from the other side of the border.

Barawal SHO Gul Fazil Khan also said that the casualties could be caused by planted bombs. He said that police did not find any evidence of firing of mortar shells.

The SHO said that Bomb Disposal Squad was also called but it could not ascertain the nature of the blasts. Chapatrara village is situated about 30 kilometres away from the Pak-Afghan border.

Quoting relatives of the victims, the SHO said that the family had no enmity with anyone. An army team is expected to reach the area to determine the nature of the blasts.

REFUSAL CASES: The National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) has claimed that polio refusal cases in the district have been controlled with the help of religious scholars and local community.

NRDF coordinator Sahibzada Izharullah, Dr Ghaniur Rehman, Dr Samiur Rehman and Maulana Sardar Ahmed told a press conference here on Sunday that religious scholars could play important role in elimination of polio.

Dr Ghani urged parents to ensure administration of polio vaccine to their children below five years of age to save them from the crippling disease. He also appealed to religious scholars to persuade parents to vaccinate their children during every anti-polio drive.

Maulana Sardar said that it was collective responsibility of the society to work for eradication of the disease. He added that the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also stressed on taking measures to prevent and cure diseases.

Mr Izharullah said they had been working with ulema for the last one and a half year to persuade parents, who had refused to vaccinate their children against polio. He said the refusal cases narrowed down gradually and finally no refusal case was reported.