HARIPUR: Senior journalist Raja Saadat Ali Turk passed away here on Sunday, family and hospital sources confirmed. He was 58 and left behind a widow, two sons and a daughter to mourn his death.

According to family sources, Saadat Ali Turk, known as Raja Sahib among his friends and acquaintances, came home from the local market complaining of severe pain in his jaws. His family shifted him to the trauma centre where his ECG was underway when he breathed his last.

Doctors on duty said the cause of death was severe cardiac arrest.

He was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Malikyar village on Sunday night.

Journalists, teachers, local body councillors, social activists and religious leaders attended the funeral.

Raja Sahib, during his journalistic career spanned over two decades, remained affiliated with different local, regional and national Urdu dailies, news channels and web-based media platforms.

KIDNAPPING BID FOILED: The residents of Mohallah Gandiyan Darra Gharbi in Khanpur tehsil claimed to have caught an alleged kidnapper and recovered a minor girl from his captivity, police said on Sunday.

Khanpur police quoted Mudassar Qureshi, a local resident, as saying that his daughter, Muneeza Bibi, 4, was playing in the street with other girls when an alleged kidnapper disguised as a beggar appeared from the neighbouring street and came close to the girls and put a cloth on the mouth of Muneeza, who fell unconscious.

He said the accused started dragging her to another street, where his other accomplices were probably waiting for him.

However, according to the police, the friends and cousins of the girl started crying, attracting the attention of their parents and other villagers.

The police said the villagers chased the alleged kidnapper and caught hold of him. They also thrashed him before handing him over to the police.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2023