Two jirga members shot dead

KARAK, July 8: Two members of a local jirga were killed and another was injured when a man, who ran a dispute with a family on a pathway, allegedly opened fire on them at the Dora Algadda village of Karak here on Sunday.

Police said the accused Gul Saeed, son of Sultan, called the jirga members, including Amir Zaman, Malik Nawar Khan and Shahabuddin, to his home to record his statement over the dispute with his neighbours on the pathway.

As the three men reached the house of Gul Saeed, he opened indiscriminate fire over them, killing Amir Zaman on the spot and injuring the others critically.

The injured were rushed to district headquarters hospital Karak where Nawar Khan died, while Shahabuddin was stated to be in stable condition.

Malik Behram Khan, son of slain Malik Nawar Khan, registered FIR in Sabirabad police station against Gul Saeed, who escaped the area.—Correspondent

Search operation in jail

PESHAWAR, July 8: A number of banned items and narcotics were confiscated by authorities during a surprise search operation in Haripur jail on Sunday, officials said.

The recoveries comprised some banned items like cell-phones and even narcotics like hashish and heroin.

It is pertinent to mention here that cell-phones are not allowed inside the prison yet such banned items slip into the hands of the prisoners who use it for communication with the outside world.

In many cases, the criminals and terrorists have been found to have been using cell-phones to continue giving instructions to their group or network members from inside the prison.

Official said they recovered 135 cell-phones, 74 chargers, 22 mobile-phone batteries, 24 headphones, 8 electric heaters and two electric rods. About four knives were also recovered.

The search team also recovered 50 grams of hashish and 25 grams of heroin from the prisoners.—Bureau Report

Workers quit PPP

CHITRAL, July 8: Several workers of PPP on Saturday quit the party’s membership and joined the ANP.

At a function held here, red caps embroidered with letters ‘ANP’ were put on their heads by the provincial vice-president of the party Shagufta Malik, while many people termed the participation of women in the public meeting a departure from the centuries-old harsh tradition.

Speaking on the occasion, they said the ANP had initiated a number of programmes for amelioration of the womenfolk for the first time.

They said the womenfolk possessed talent of varied nature and could play role in social integration and development if given a chance breaking the self-imposed taboos.

Shagufta Malik enumerated a number of projects meant for the womenfolk and said all these were aimed at women development in all sectors, including financial and political emancipation.—Correspondent

Cash prizes distributed

KOHAT, July 8: The District Coordination Officer Zakir Hussain on Sunday distributed cash prizes among the position holders of the recently held cultural and sports festival in Kohat division on behalf of the governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The DCO, while addressing a function, said the festival was a good omen after such a long time of worst law and order in the Kohat region. He said sport was the tool to keep the children busy in positive activities.

He announced that soon governor football tournament would be held in which teams from the whole Kohat division would participate.

The provincial finance secretary of football association Haji Mohib Shinwari, provincial president of basketball association Faqir Awan, member of provincial football association Amanullah and other office-bearers were also present.—Correspondent

Developing backward areas

KHAR, July 8: MNA from Bajaur Agency Syed Akhunzada Chattan said the federal government was determined to provide basic facilities to the people of backward areas. He claimed that several mega development projects would soon be launched in different areas of the agency.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the newly established electricity feeder in the Sharbati area of Barang tehsil here the other day, he said the PPP-led federal government was spending a huge amount on the provision of basic facilities and development of backward areas.

He said the Barang tehsil had been ignored by the past governments. “Basic needs of life and modern facilities were the rights of every citizen of the country but in the past tribesmen living in the remote areas were deprived of their basic rights,” he added.

He said he was struggling to get more funds for the development of the region.—Correspondent

EUP holds entry test

PESHAWAR, July 8: The Engineering University Peshawar (EUP) on Sunday held entry tests under the aegis of the Education Testing and Evaluation Authority (ETEA) for the students seeking admissions in 2012-13 undergraduate engineering programmes in EUP and allied engineering colleges.

The tests were simultaneously arranged in Colonel Sher Khan Shaheed Stadium, Peshawar and Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. A total of 14,984 candidates of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan appeared in the admission tests among which 13,347 took admission tests in Peshawar, while 1,637 attempted in Abbottabad.

According to a press release issued here, the results would be announced in next 36 hours and can be viewed on www.etea.edu.pk and www.nwfpuet.edu.pk. —APP

IDP children get cash

PESHAWAR, July 8: The Pakistan Village Development Programme (PVDP) with the financial help of Unicef on Sunday provided cash assistance to IDP children residing in Durrani camp, Sadda.

Executive Director PVDP Haris Zaka distributed cash amount of Rs1,500 each among 400 children in aceremony. Camp in-charge Shah Daraz, and camp coordinator Mohammad Imran were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, camp coordinator Mohammad Imran said ‘we have planned to extend our social activities to drug addicted children with a view to address their sense of deprivation and provide them an opportunity to restart normal lifestyle.

He said a team of qualified psychologists was conducting counselling procedures for the rehabilitation of the addict children besides disseminating necessary information to reduce incidents of child labour.

Parents appreciated the endeavours of Unicef and PVDP for providing financial assistance to their children.—APP