LOWER DIR: The police on Friday claimed to have arrested a man for assaulting and killing a six-year-old girl within 24 hours of the crime.

Speaking at a news conference at the Timergara Police Lines, district police officer Ziauddin said Ali Khan, 40, belonged to Bannu district, and had been living in Khazana area of Lower Dir for last few years. SP investigations Zahoor Khan was also present.

He said body of the minor was found in the fields near the Panjkora River in the jurisdiction of Munda police station the other day, and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for postmortem.

The DPO said the case was a challenge for the police as the IGP and regional police officer had had also taken notice of it.

DPO says incident sparked outrage on social media

He said the man had confessed to strangling the girl after raping her and throwing the body near the Panjkora River at night. He said the accused worked as a labourer at a local bakery.

The DPO said scores of suspects were taken into custody after the incident sparked criticism on social media as it was the first such case in Dir.

Mr Ziauddin said the girl went missing from her home on Wednesday.

Separately, a woman and two children, residents of Talash, were injured when a car plunged into the Panjkora River near the Zulam Bridge on Friday.

Rescue officials said they shifted the injured to the District Headquarters Hospital, Timergara.

JIRGA DEMAND: A jirga on Friday appealed to the authorities to carry out the promised demarcation of the riverbed and withdraw cases registered against the local residents for excavating their ‘own’ lands.

The jirga members made the demand during a meeting with Lower Dir additional deputy commissioner Abdul Wali Khan, assistant director minerals department Ijaz Khan and Akhunzada Naseerullah of the irrigation department at the Jirga Hall in Balambat.

The jirga members included chief of Dir Qaumi Pasoon Malik Jehan Alam, Brig retired Saeedullah Khan, former provincial minister Mahmood Zeb Khan and others.

They said flash floods had washed away agricultural lands on both sides of the Panjkora River, and widened the riverbed.

They pointed out that the administration had agreed with the landowners on demarcation of the riverbed, but to no avail.

The officials agreed to the jirga’s proposals and promised the contractors won’t be allowed to lift sand and gravel from the riverbed till the final decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, women teachers working in the second shift on Friday complained they had not been paid their salary for last three months.

Talking to reporters, they said they were taking regular classes in the government girls’ higher secondary school, Ziarat Talash. However, they said the district education officer had cancelled the second shift due to fewer students.

They said they had met the deputy commissioner and education department officials, demanding salary, but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2024