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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Body of kidnapped tribal elder recovered

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The body of one of six tribal elders, kidnapped two days back from the Ghlu Chena area, was recovered in Ghiljo in Orazkzai Agency on Tuesday.




Sources said the throat-slit body of the tribal elder identified as Jannat Khan, apparently abducted by militants, was recovered from Ghiljo area in Orakzai. Tribal sources said the 75-year-old deceased was kidnapped along with five other elders a couple of days back.



Zar Jan, the son of the slain tribal chieftain, told reporters that they had no enmity with anyone and killing a harmless old man was a cruel and inhuman act. He asked the government to take action against the killers of his father. Five other elders were still missing. There was no clue that who kidnapped them, though suspicion fell on the militants.

Monday, March 22, 2010

39 held, arms seized in Kohat

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Police claimed to have arrested 39 outlaws and recovered arms in raids conducted in various parts of the district, official sources said on Sunday. The sources said Jarma police raided the house of Zari Badshah, alias Dedi group, in Surgul area and arrested three persons after a brief exchange of fire. The arrested persons were identified as Zari Badshah, Kamal Gul and Ashfaq Ahmad. Two Kalashnikov rifles, two pistols and several cartridges were recovered from their possession. The sources said the culprits were wanted by Karachi police for their alleged involvement in a robbery case. Meanwhile, the police raided various areas and arrested 36 outlaws. Five Kalashnikov rifles, Kalakov rifle, 12 guns, 13 pistols, dozens of cartridges and six kilogram hashish were seized.

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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Ten militants were killed in Orakzai Agency

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Ten militants were killed in air strikes as ground troops took control of Kasha area of Orakzai Agency for the first time on Saturday.




Officials said that fighter jets pounded suspected positions of militants in Arghanjo, Sharla and Dagai areas of Upper Orakzai and destroyed three of their hideouts.



Troops moved from Shahukhel area of Hangu and took control of Kasha in Orakzai Agency. Troops had been fighting for months to gain control of the area.



Fighter jets had frequently been pounding suspected militant positions both in Upper and Lower Orakzai after reports emerged that some top leaders of Al Qaeda and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan were hiding in the region.



In two days of operations, jets killed at least 23 militants and destroyed seven of their hideouts and three vehicles.



Meanwhile, troops continued sporadic artillery fire from the central Kurram side and Ferozkhel area on suspected militant positions in the bordering Khyber Agency in order to stop the movement of militants to settled areas.



Security forces have set up 18 checkposts inside the Orakzai Agency.



Officials told Dawn that security forces mulling over launching an operation in Orakzai and had surveyed difficult terrain and gathered information for the purpose.



Bodies of five militants belonging to Mullah Toofan group were brought to Orakzai Agency and buried in Aa Khel, Mamozai and Ali Khel areas. They were killed in a fight with a rival faction led by commander Rafique in central Kurram.
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Friday, March 19, 2010

Two die as forces open fire on coach in Darra

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Two passengers, including a woman, were killed Thursday in firing allegedly by the security forces in Akhorwal area in Darra Adamkhel, tribal sources said on Thursday. The sources said a Kohat-bound coach was lined up along with other vehicles during the blockade of Kohat-Peshawar Road because of search operation by the security forces. Violating the security warning, driver of the coach reportedly tried to overtake other vehicles, prompting the security forces to open fire on the coach. As a result, two persons including a woman were killed while seven others sustained injuries. The dead reportedly belonged to Kurram Agency. The injured were rushed to a hospital in Peshawar.

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Talks between traders and political authorities failed

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The final round of talks between the political administration and traders’ organisation over reopening of the Inayat Kallay bazaar ended inconclusive on Thursday.




The political authorities and the Anjuman Tajiran held several rounds of talks to reopen the bazaar closed for 16 months.



An official privy to the meeting told Dawn the traders rejected the terms and conditions set by the political administration for reopening of the bazaar, which led to failure of the negotiations.



The terms presented by the administration to traders included maintenance of peace, barring the entry of armed men in the bazaar, protecting security personnel from militant attacks, handing over of those responsible for the killing of a Levies man some months ago in the bazaar and payment of Rs500,000 as compensation to his family members.

Monday, March 15, 2010

13 militants killed in Orakzai

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March 14: At least 13 militants were killed and a number of their hideouts and camps destroyed in air and artillery attacks in Orakzai Agency on Sunday.




Intermittent shelling by helicopters and artillery also destroyed a large food storage facility.



A spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan denied the official claims about casualty and said that three militants had been injured and a house damaged in the attacks.

The Help

Military planes pounded suspected training camps and hideouts in Merobak area where the houses of Haji Nasrullah, father-in-law of militant ‘commander’ Aslam Farooqui, and Akhtar Jan, were razed. A girls’ school where Taliban had set up a camp was also destroyed.



The Reuters news agency quoted an official as saying that 16 militants were killed in the strikes.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Cop shot dead in Kohat

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A police constable killed another cop over an old enmity in the Esakhel Kachai village on Friday. Sources said the deceased policeman was on leave when Iftikhar Hussain allegedly opened fire on him, killing him on the spot. Suleman, brother of the slain policeman, said the incident happened because of an old enmity between the two families.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Militants threaten Karak institutions against co-education

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Different educational institutions of Karak district received threatening letters from suspected militants on Tuesday, asking the administration to end co-education or else face the consequences, sources said.
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Militants had pasted the letters written in Pashto language on the main gates of Government Postgraduate College and Polytechnic Institute Karak at night, threatening the authorities to close the ongoing co-education system in the district.

The letter claimed co-education was against the teachings of the religion and therefore it should be banned forthwith. The sources said a week ago some unidentified armed persons had forced their entry into Centennial Modal School Chokara at night and warned the school to end co-education or face the music. Later, they opened fire at the main gate of the school.

The principal of the school called a meeting of the parents the next day and apprised them about the threats. The parents decided to take a bold stand and showed determination to defy the threats. They said the militants wanted to disrupt educational activities in the district, which would not be allowed.

The parents said that these elements did not want Khattak tribe to develop by depriving their children of education, adding it was a conspiracy hatched against the tribe. The school administration also brought the issue into the notice of the district administration and district police officer of Karak Sajid Ahmad Khan Mohmand who provided security to the school.

It was learnt that threatening letters had also been sent to private educational institutions situated in Chokara and other parts of the district.

A lecturer of a private educational institution in Chokara, Nisar Ahmad, informed The News that after receiving the letters, their college administration called a staff and parents meeting which decided to instruct the students to wear shuttlecock veils as a part of uniform in the college. Nisar said they didn’t receive any letter after changing the uniform, but the tension prevailed as the letters had affected the educational environment in the district.

More staff at IDPs camp sought

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The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Jarma camp on Tuesday demanded of the government to increase the staff at the camp for facilitating the registration process. The Social Welfare Department in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees established a camp at Jarma for the IDPs. Sources said the IDPs from Kohat, Orakzai and Parachinar had been complaining about slow registration because of the staff shortage at the camp. The camp in-charge, Saifullah told The News that 20,725 families comprising 97,836 individuals had so far been registered while the process was in progress. Social Welfare Officer Shazia Khattak said that 15,000 families were being provided buckets, jerry cans, soaps, kitchen sets, quilts and food items and the remaining families would soon get these items.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Registration of IDPs resumes

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Monday resumed registration of people displaced from central Kurram after it was declared conflict-hit area.

District social welfare officer Shazia Khattak told Dawn on Monday that 1,800 new displaced families had been registered since March 3 and the process would continue for a month as the number of IDPs from Orakzai Agency was also constantly rising.

Lack of college staff protested in Hangu

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The students of Government Degree College here Monday blocked Kohat-Hangu Road to protest shortage of the teaching staff and lack of other facilities in the college.

Speaking on the occasion, student leader Musarrat Khan Afridi said the teaching staff for English, Mathematics and Chemistry was not available at the collage. He deplored that there were no proper arrangements for provision of potable water to the students. He threatened to continue protest if the college administration failed to address the problems being faced by the students.

“I have already brought the issue into the notice of higher authorities but still the government has not rendered anything in this regard,” Zakaullah, principal of the college said. Meanwhile, District Coordination Officer Musaddiq, Assistant Coordination Officer Nazar Gul and Deputy Superintendent of Police Farid Khan assured the students to resolve their problems.

Bid to smuggle artifacts foiled in Kohat

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Customs officials here Monday recovered precious artifacts including sculptures from a Karachi-bound bus and arrested three persons.

Sources said the ancient objects from the Buddhist era were reported to be worth Rs35 billion in the international market. The artifacts included 37 sculptures, six figurines, two daggers, cups and a knife.

The officials said the relics were being transported to Karachi from where it were to be smuggled to Canada. The archeologists were summoned from Peshawar to estimate the cost of the recovered artifacts and sculptures.

They said the statues were more than 3,000 years old and belonged to the age of Buddha. The arrested smugglers were identified as Sher Ali, Khaista Khan and Faqir Muhammad. Due to lack of proper check and vigilance by the government authorities on the archaeological sites in the NWFP, illegal excavation has become a lucrative business.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in Hangu

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HANGU: A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of civilians guarded by security forces in Pakistan's northwest on Friday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 30, police said.
Suicide bombings have eased in recent weeks but it is not clear whether that is because security has improved after military gains against the Taliban, or if the insurgents are merely regrouping for more attacks.

“Our convoy was hit by a big explosion. It's all chaos here. I myself have seen four dead, two of them are children. I have seen four wounded women,” said witness Javed Hussain, who was in the convoy of vehicles carrying Shia Muslims to the city of Peshawar.

“We have now a confirmed figure of 10 dead, including four women. Thirty wounded have been admitted to hospitals,” Fazal Naeem, the regional police spokesman, said.

Eye witness accounts reveal that a boy blew himself up near the convoy when it reached a petrol pump in the Thall Tehsil of Hangu. Four vehicles were also destroyed in the attack. The security forces have cordoned off the entire area and a curfew has been imposed.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

EDUCATION CENTRES FOR ADULT IN KOHAT

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The National Commission for Human Development will set up 210 adult literacy centres in Kohat district.

Inaugurating one such centre in Nasrat Khel area, MPA Dr Iqbal Din Fana said that getting education was duty of every Muslim like fasting, offering prayers and giving Zakat.

He regretted that Muslims ruled the whole world through education for centuries but now they were completely dependent on foreign funding for educational projects.

Speaking on the occasion, the general manager of NCHD, Col (retired) Wajid Ali Khan, said that initially 210 education centres for adult people were being established in 32 union councils of the district. The number would be increased gradually, he said.

The elders of the area including Maulana Abdullah Jan, Haji Roshan Gul and Manzoor Ahmed Feroze also spoke on the occasion and encouraged people to join classes in those education centres.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Five killed over property dispute in Kohat

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Five members of a family were shot dead over a property dispute in Banda Fateh Khan area of Kohat. Police have arrested the accused.

The accused Abid Aman, son of former chairman district council Wilayat Shah, killed five people including his two brothers, according to police officials. The dispute was over property and the accused was mentally retarded, police added.