SWABI: A driver was burnt to death when his van caught fire here on Sunday.

The van was part of a wedding procession and it caught fire after smoke started emanating from its engine near Swabi interchange of the motorway.

The passengers broke the panes and succeeded to come out of the van, but the driver, identified as Zakir Khan of Dagai village, got trapped and was burnt to death.

The wedding procession was on way from Kachkul Banda to Dagai village.

In Yar Hussain village, a man allegedly attacked his two aged aunts when they refused to give him share in their house. Both were taken to the local hospital where their condition was stated to be critical. They have registered an FIR against their nephew Haris Khan.

SUPPORT FOR GIK INSTITUTE: Society for the Promotion of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Pakistan (Soprest) executive director Shakil Durrani said on Sunday that the Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology would be supported in all of its initiatives for imparting quality education and incentivising the faculty.

Soprest is the parent body of GIK Institute and provides funding for its different projects such as faculty and staff accommodation, lab equipment and other infrastructure facilities.

Mr Durrani held a meeting with deans of various faculties and academic staff. A briefing was given to him by acting rector Sardar Aminullah Khan about admissions for Fall 2021 semester, various programmes and initiatives and future planning.

Pro-rector academics Dr Wasim A Khan talked about the efforts for bringing about innovative technologies and improvement in quality of education.

Mr Durrani said the increased interest of the students in different disciplines showed their confidence in high standards maintained by the institute. “The MS and PhD programmes are the essence of the GIK Institute’s academic activities,” he said.

He highlighted the increase in the number of scholarships for assisting the talented needy students to avail of educational facilities at the GIK Institute as part of the Soprest policy.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2021