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Friday, December 30, 2011

PHC rejects police probe in Uzma Ayub Case

Source Pakistan Observer

Peshawar—The Peshawar High Court here on Thursday ordered inclusion of 7-Anti Terrorism Act against the accused in murder case of brother of alleged gang rape victim in Karak district and rejected the enquiry report of DIG Enquiry and Investigation, Sultan Hanif Orakzai.

A two-member bench of PHC, Comprising Chief Justice, Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth took strong exception over the DIG enquiry report and ruled that why contempt of court proceeding should not be initiated against him for presenting such report that was not based on facts.

The court directed DIG Kohat Idrees Khan to continue probe of the alleged gang rape case of Uzma Ayub and clod blooded murder of his brother, Alamzaib in Karak district. The court ordered inclusion of 7-ATA against the accused in the murder case of Alamzaib and adjourned the case till January 17, 2012.

IGP KPK Muhammad Akbar Khan Hoti and Secretary Health also appeared in the court with direction of conducting of DNA Test of the unborn baby of gang rape victim after the birth to ascertain factual position. The PHC had taken strong notice of police negligence in the case and had suspended DPO Karak after killing of Uzma Ayub brother in Karak courts.

The court had also directed IGP Khyber Pakthunkhwa, Muhammad Akbar Khan Hoti to serve a show-cause notice on DIG, Kohat for not reaching on the spot after report of the incident. The Court directed strict action against police officials found guilty in the case and submission of enquiry report within seven days before the court. The court also directed government Khyber Pakthunkhwa to provide foolproof security to Uzma Ayub and her family in Peshawar.

Tribal elder shot dead in Kohat

Source Dawn

Unidentified motorcyclists shot dead a tribal elder of Orakzai Agency in Bosti Banda area of Kohat district on Thursday.
Police said that the assailants managed to escape after killing the tribal elder, however, they left behind their motorcycle, bearing registration number RLA-4672.
The Bilitang police station impounded the motorcycle and launched search for the arrest of the unidentified killers after registering a case against them.
Earlier this week, two motorcyclists had killed a leader of Sunni Supreme Council of Hangu district and injured his companion in an ambush in the same area.
In Khyber Agency, two alleged kidnappers were killed and two others arrested after exchange of fire with security forces in Jamrud tehsil on Thursday.
An official handout said that a gang of kidnappers opened firing on a joint team of security forces and khasadars when they raided a house in Saparee area early in the morning.
Two kidnappers identified as Amir and Hayat Mir were killed while two others arrested after a shootout, the handout said.
The security forces also recovered Sadeequllah, a resident of Peshawar, who had been kidnapped for ransom. The kidnappers were demanding Rs10 million for his release.
Meanwhile, Khasadar Force recovered the body of a driver from Gudar Kallay in Jamrud on Thursday.
Officials said that the body had torture marks. The deceased was identified as Talib Jan, a resident of Landi Kotal. His body was later handed over to his relatives.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Uzma Ayub case: action taken against 25 cops

Source The News

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Kohat Range Masood Khan Afridi on Monday said that action had been taken against 25 policemen in the Uzma Ayub rape case and murder of her brother Alamzeb.

Talking to family members of Uzma Ayub at the office of Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Takht Nusrati, here, the DIG said that all possible help would be extended to the affected family. He said that Alamzeb murder case was being probed thoroughly and a monitoring committee had also been formed to oversee the performance of the inquiry committee.

The official said so far 25 police officials had been taken to task and action would be taken against others as well. He directed the police to ensure security of the affected family and asked them to inform the police if they needed any sort of help.

Shia-Sunni peace jirga leader killed in Kohat

Source Central Asia Online

Attackers December 26 fatally shot a leading member of the Shia-Sunni Peace Jirga of Hangu, Maulana Niazbar, and injured his companion, Maulana Zeenatullah, on the Indus Highway in Kohat, media reported.
Armed men riding motorbikes opened fire on Niazbar, who is a member of the Sunni Supreme Council in Hangu District and who had come to Kohat to attend two separate jirgas. He died on the spot.
Zeenatullah, a resident of the Jarma area in Kohat, was hospitalised in Peshawar in serious condition.

Afghan refugees in trouble as banned via Kohat Tunnel

Source Online News

Afghan refugees residing in 20 various camps in southern districts of Khyber Pakhrunkhwa (KP) are in worse conditions due to blockade of their travel through Kohat Tunnel.
The refugees with Proof of Registration (PoR) card are compelled to stay at their makeshifts or travel through a very long route passing near Attock to Peshawar and they are facing various business and social problems, Afghan refugees in the area complained via telephone.
Their movement via Kohat Tunnel was banned in Muharram and it is still persisting that put them in awkward conditions as it is very difficult to reach a funeral to its destination besides other problems.
The Afghan Ambassador, Omer Daudzai had raised the issue with Governor Barrister Syed Masood Kausar about two weeks ago and he had promised to resolve it.
�Yes we had taken up the issue with the governor to facilitate millions of the refugees as they are facing problems in their routine life due to ban on their movement via Kohat Tunnel and he had promised to raise the issue in the official meeting,� Zardasht Shams, Press Attach� of Afghan embassy, told Online Tuesday.
The agency tried to contact provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar but he did not respond.
When Commissioner Afghan Refugees in KP Arbab Arshad was contacted for his official version he said that the question should be asked from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. �Afghan refugees are not my subject, I have no concern with them� he said when he was informed for clearance that the question is not related to IDPs but rather to Afghan refugees.
Nevertheless, UNHCR head in Peshawar Office Ahmed Warsame told Online his Organization believes in freedom of movement of the refugees and has taken up the issue with the Secretary for SAFRON Habibullah Khan, who would respond in next few days.
�The secretary had promised to resolve the problem soon,� he said.
About 70 refugees� camps are located across the KP and 1.7 million Afghan refugees are still living in Pakistan.
The authorities concerned had imposed ban on the movement via Kohat Tunnel from the security point of view in Muharram-ul-Haram but now the situation is being reassessed and soon a decision would be taken in this connection, said official sources on condition of anonymity.
Several terrorists� attacks and bomb blasts against the check posts of the tunnel and inside the strategic tunnel of Kohat that connects Peshawar to Karachi, were carried out in the last three years.

Monday, December 26, 2011

KIMS affiliated with Khyber Medical University

Source Dawn

The Kohat Institute of Medical Sciences has been formally affiliated with Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, to fulfill a longstanding demand of the students.
Officials on Thursday said the affiliation of Kohat Institute of Medical Sciences was transferred from the Kohat University of Science and Technology to the Khyber Medical University at a ceremony held at Governor House in Peshawar.
KMU vice-chancellor Prof Dr Hafeezullah and KUST vice-chancellor Prof Dr Nasir Jamal Khattak signed the transfer deed.
Minister for Health Syed Zahir Ali Shah, Minister for Higher Education Qazi Mohammad Asad, provincial secretaries of the respective departments were also present.

Gang of smugglers busted in Kohat

Source Dawn

Police here have busted a gang involved in smuggling of non-custom paid vehicles from tribal areas to settled areas of the country.
Officials said that the police were checking papers of vehicles at Jozara area at the Kohat-Hangu border when a Toyota Hiace was stopped for examination of its registration, which was found fake along with its number (LES-6582).
The police party arrested Umeriaz Khan and Mohammad Tayyab, residents of Mamshi area of Bannu district, who tried to flee but were intercepted after a little chase.
During interrogation, the accused said that they were being followed by the gang leader in a car, who returned back to Hangu after their arrest.
The police said that the accused revealed that they were in the business of bringing non-custom paid vehicles from tribal areas, bordering Afghanistan, preparing fake registration
papers and selling them to potential buyers in settled areas.
An intelligence officer confided to this correspondent that the tribesmen smuggled vehicles for personal use in Fata where they were exempted from tax. He said that a cartel also existed that smuggled such vehicles to other parts of the country with the connivance of customs staff and police.
He claimed that the charges for non-custom paid vehicle’s entry to Kohat varied at different checkposts. He said that there were three main police checkposts where the staff charged up to Rs8,000 per vehicle. He said that the smugglers who carried such vehicles to Punjab had been paying up to Rs200,000 on average at checkpost depending on model of the
vehicle.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Iftikhar Gilani, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister join PTI

Source Business Recorder

Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, former law minister and founding member of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) along with former minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Iftikharuddin Khatak from his hometown Kohat joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, PTI chief Imran Khan welcomed the new entrants into his party's fold, saying that his party, which is an explosive and fast combination of 'youth and experience' is on its way to victory.

When asked how PTI, which has a unique mixture of young talent and the experienced bigwigs, can bring a change in the country, Imran said, "our worst government will be better than the best governance of the present rulers."Terming PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif's demand for early elections as rhetoric, Imran said he should ask his party members to resign from the assemblies if he really wanted to get rid of the present rulers.

These are the two parties [PPP, PML-N], he added, which are afraid of PTI's rising popularity and busy in criticising people who refused to be part of them."Both PPP and PML-N tried their level best to onboard people who have joined PTI, when they refused, they have started calling them leftovers, turncoats and what not," he added.

He went on saying that PML-N was not running any campaign against PPP rather it was befooling masses through statements for early polls, which is far away from reality."The PML-N instead of criticising PPP, is targeting PTI...this is a joint drama of both the parties in their bid to malign PTI, in which they have been miserably failed," he maintained.

About his Kasur rally, in which people stole the chairs, he said, "people have become frustrated and if poverty kept on increasing at this record level, the day is not far when it will make them rebels." About memo scandal, he said it was a very serious issue and the apex court should dig out all the details so that the truth will come out.About his planned rally in Karachi on December 25, he said there were reports that Sindh High Court has barred the party from holding the rally.

"We respect the decisions of the court, but will challenge the issue in the Supreme Court as we are responsible citizens and there is no harm in holding a peaceful rally," he added.He said that public mobilisation was need of the hour as people were desperate for change and had become fed of these rulers.

About ban on dual nationality holders to contest elections in the country, Imran said his party would seek a review of ECP decisions, as it may be prudent to deprive expatriates to play their due role in country's politics.He said that it would be unjust with the expatriates, who contribute billions of dollars to their motherland every year and they should be encouraged to play active role in country's politics.

Speaking on the occasion, Iftikhar Gilani said that he saw Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's reflection in Imran that was why he opted to join PTI.

"I have quit the politics just because of these politicians, and today it is the leadership of Imran Khan, which forced me to become active in politics once again," he added.

KUST students protest lack of equipment at labs

Source The News

The students of the Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST) enrolled in the Electrical Engineering Department boycotted classes on Wednesday and staged protest against the administration for not installing equipment at the laboratories.

Talking to The News, third year students of the Electrical Engineering Department said the equipment for the laboratories had been purchased two months ago by the KUST management. However, they alleged that the delay by the administration to install the equipment and establish proper laboratories compelled them to boycott classes since last Monday.

The protesters added that practical work at the laboratories for the engineering students was the mandatory requirement of the Higher Education Commission. They said their registration was delayed due to absence of proper laboratories and it could delay award of degrees to them upon completion of the course.

Former PHC chief justice Syed Ibn Ali joins ANP

Source Pakistan Today

Prominent political and social figure from Kohat, former Peshawar High Court chief justice (r) Syed Ibn Ali on Thursday announced resignation from the Pakistan People’s Party and association to the Awami National Party in the presence of ANP provincial President Afraseyab Khattak and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti at the CM’s House.
Justice (r) Ali termed his inclusion in the “caravan of Bacha Khan and Wali Khan” a good omen for the Pakhtuns, adding that the current state of the region demanded unity among Pakhtuns.
The chief minister said the ANP was the real representative party of the Pakhtuns, adding that Justice (r) Ali’s life was open and spotless. Paying tribute to Justice (r) Ali on his services for unity among Muslims, Hoti said Islamic brotherhood and religious harmony flourished in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa particularly in southern districts. He said external elements tried to sow the seeds of dissent, adding that these evil designs could be thwarted through collective efforts. He said anti-state elements were trying different excuses for tarnishing the unity among the people and were aiming to wreak havoc and devastation, adding that there was no room for their conspiracies.

6 arrested from patwaris’ offices

Source The News

The anti-corruption department Thursday arrested six persons from various offices of the patwaris (revenue officials) and recovered fake land documents from their possession, sources said.

Inspector Sattar Khan Khattak, the anti-corruption’s Kohat circle in-charge, said that his unit had received complaints from the public that some persons were illegally working as assistants to the patwaris at their offices in Kohat district.

He said a team raided the offices and arrested six persons identified as Imam Al Hussain, Abu Bakr, Mehtab Ali, Pir Badshah, Yasir and Israr and seized fake records from their possession. He said the arrested persons were produced before the court, which handed them to the anti-corruption police on one-day remand. After the incident, the patwaris announced pen-down strike for an indefinite period.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Child among four hurt in Hangu clinic blast

Source Dawn

Four persons, including a girl child, were injured in a remote controlled bomb blast at the private clinic of a lady doctor in Hangu city on Thursday.
The main gate, waiting rooms and boundary wall of the clinic were badly damaged in the explosion. The lady doctor remained unhurt in the blast, however, her assistant received injuries.
Police said that the remote controlled device had been planted at the gate of the clinic and it exploded when several patients were waiting for their turn for medical checkup. The clinic is situated in Bahadar Garhi area of Hangu city.
The injured child, Sayam, who had come to the clinic for treatment, was in serious condition, doctors said. The other people, who suffered injuries from the splinters of the gate, were identified as paramedic Khayal Mohammad, Abdul Lateef and Naeem Shah. “All the three injured are in their teens,” sources said.
They were being treated at the district headquarters hospital by the surgeons of Medics Sans Frontiers, which had its own operation theatre and emergency room inside the building.
The bomb disposal squad said that the device could be approximately two kilograms heavy because its blast was very huge and jolted the surrounding houses and buildings.
Security in the region was beefed up to avoid any untoward incident owing to the daylong visit of Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to Kohat and Orakzai Agency on Thursday.
In Peshawar, a bomb blast destroyed a portion of a house owned by a tribesman at Saadat Town in Rasheed Garhi area on Thursday morning, police said.
According to police the explosive device was planted beside the house of Saadat Khan Mohmand, who has shifted from Mohmanad Agency and dealing in property business.
An official of Yakatoot police station said that the complainant avoided to nominate anyone in the case and said that he had not enmity with anyone. Quoting the complainant, police said that his family had got no threats and he was unable to blame anyone for the blast.
An official of the bomb disposal unit said that about 800 grams explosives, packed in a canister, were used in the blast.
He said it was a time bomb but it seemed that the device exploded before its time and people remained unhurt.
About the Wednesday`s blast in Nasir Mohmand Surgical Hospital in Gulbahar, the official said that experts found no proof about use of explosives in it. It was surely a gas explosion, he said.