MANSEHRA: Pakistan cricket team’s new leg spinner, Abrar Ahmad, who had migrated from Shinkiari here to Karachi along with his family after the devastating 2005 earthquake, brings joy and happiness to the people of his native town after he bagged seven wickets in the first innings of his debut Test match against England.

“We not only celebrated the leg spinner’s rise to the international cricket but also the great feat he has achieved after securing seven wickets against the strong England side,” Inayatur Rehman, a relative of the young cricketer, told reporters in Shinkiari on Saturday.

He said the residents of Mohallah Pung-Meral, the birthplace of the mystery spinner, where he got his early education and memorised the holy Quran, were jubilant on the youngster’s rise to Test cricket. “They danced and distributed sweets.”

Mr Rehman said the family of Noorul Islam, the father of leg spinner, along with his family had migrated to Karachi after the 2005 devastating earthquake.

“We are amazed by his great success,” Mr Rehman said.

Tariq Adil Khankhel, a local, said youngsters in Shinkiari and rest of the district were crazy about cricket.

“Mr Ahmad is a role model for the youngsters as he was a brilliant student and learned the Quran by heart and shined in the sports too,” he said.

It is important to mention here that fast bowler Haris Rauf also belongs to Mansehra district, hailing from Dadar village, located 15 kilometres from Shinkiari.

VISIT: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Prisons Saadat Hussain on Saturday said his department was imparting vocational, computer and beauty parlour training and skills to male and female inmates and juvenile offenders to help them become useful citizens of the society when they left jails.

“We are imparting vocational skills to inmates to bring them out of trauma and stigma attached to their lives after landing in jails,” he said while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a skills development complex at the district jail.

ENCROACHMENTS REMOVED: The tehsil municipal administration on Saturday removed handcarts and other makeshift structures from Abbottabad and Shinkiari roads.

“The encroachments coming in right of way have been removed, and traders have been warned not to encroach upon roads in future,” said a TMA official.

He said the operation was launched to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the city roads.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2022