Hospital in Kohat being used as godown

Source Dawn

A government hospital built 30 years ago to provide healthcare to residents of 23 villages in Ustarzai area, has been turned into a godown for dumping wheat and other stuff. Similarly, a primary school built in 1910 in the same area has not been reconstructed or even renovated.

Talking to this correspondent on Monday, residents complained that the Ustarzai hospital had been turned into a godown for storing wheat and other stuff in its rooms.
They said there was no regular OPD and medicines for the poor patients.

The only X-ray machine is lying out of order for several years and there is no lady doctor and other specialist staff, forcing people to go to Kohat from the border of Orakzai Agency for treatment, they further complained. According to them, many patients expire on their way while several women gave birth to babies while travelling on a long bumpy kacha road.

Similarly, they complained that for the past several decades classes were being held in a rented building as no government took interest in rebuilding or even renovating the old building of the school.

“We have been tired of asking the government officials about the new school building. It’s ironical that the ANP government which claims to have placed education on top of its agenda also failed to take the issue seriously,” other residents informed this reporter.

A few months back a former chief justice of the Peshawar High Court Syed Ibne Ali, who is a candidate for the assembly seat of ANP, announced reconstruction of the school, but failed to realise his promise, the local people complained. Promises were also made by the two-time MPA and now incumbent minister Engr Syed Qalbe Hassan, MPA Musarat Shafi and MNA Khursheed Begum but all proved false.

The residents alleged that billions of rupees were given to the elected representatives during last four years but they failed to benefit the masses.

ANP MNA among 5 hurt in Kohat road mishap

Source The News

Five persons including the Awami National Party (ANP) MNA Pir Dilawar Shah sustained injuries in a road mishap near Gulshanabad Chowk here on Saturday, sources said.

The sources said that Pir Dilawar Shah along with his family was on his way home from Islamabad when his van collided with a vehicle near Gulshanabad Chowk on the Rawalpindi Road. Five members of his family including his younger brother Pir Zakir Shah and women and children were injured. They were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Kohat from where two of the injured were referred to a hospital in Peshawar.

Intra-party rifts may hit PPP, ANP in Kohat

Source Dawn

Intra-party differences within Kohat chapters of Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party, respectively, could lead to problems for both the parties in coming general election.

Recently, an ideological group has been formed in the PPP after nominations of new district and divisional organisations by the party president and provincial minister Syed Qalbe Hassan.

In this regard, hundreds of old guards of PPP ideological group took out a protest rally ‘Qalbe hatao PPP Bachao’ against the incumbent divisional president the other day. They also chanted slogans against the minister and displayed placards to oppose formation of new organisations.

Those who spoke on the occasion included former PPP district president Abdur Rauf, former secretary general Mazhar Khan and former city president Nazeer Gulzar, who all were ousted from party positions on the instructions of high command.

In their speeches they rejected the district and divisional organisations and demanded accommodation of old guards in the party setup. They alleged that the new office-bearers were ousted from the party in 2007 and in fact formed the ‘B’ team of PML-N in Kohat. They also demanded action against the minister who, they alleged, had divided the PPP.

Similarly, an ideological group within the ANP, Kohat, has alleged that the present office-bearers were elected through forged elections. At a meeting the old workers announced to hold a convention

of disgruntled workers and review the peace agreement reached with the district leadership six months ago.

The old guards include former secretary general Masood Khan, Shaukat Hussain, Javed Khattak, Farooq Shah, Adnan Bukhari, Tufail Bangash and others.

They alleged that Saeed Shah got elected as district president through own-appointed building contractors as councillors to grab the position.

Govt asked to reopen oil depot in Kohat

Source The News

Consumers here Saturday asked the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to resume supply from the Pakistan State Oil’s fuel depot in Babari Banda that has been closed some five years ago due to security concerns.

The consumers and transporters said the closure of the depot caused increase in prices of petroleum products in the area.

They said the government gradually reopened almost all the closed oil depots but the one in Kohat was yet to be made operational. They said the facility used to supply oil to petrol pumps in Hangu, Thall, Kohat, Kurram Agency, Orakzai Agency, Darra Adamkhel, Karak and some parts of Punjab province.

Chaudhry Sajjad and Salman Afridi, owners of the filling stations in Kohat said they were forced to buy fuel in Peshawar and Punjab and have to transport the product through Darra Adamkhel at their own risk.

Planted explosives damage telephone exchange in Kohat

Source Dawn

Unidentified terrorists blew up the building of PTCL exchange in Lachi town of Kohat district in the small hours of Sunday.

Police said that terrorists planted explosives at the boundary wall of the telephone exchange building and blew it up. The blast damaged the boundary wall and the building. Nobody was injured in the explosion, they said.

Police and the bomb disposal squad reached the spot soon after the incident and collected evidence. Police registered a case against unidentified terrorists.

Kohatis hit hard by curbs on movement

Source Dawn

All the main roads in and around Kohat wear a deserted look in the  evening owing to the ban, imposed by security forces on travelling in the region after 6pm for the last six years.
The Kohat-Parachinar Road is closed after 6pm to all kinds of traffic like the tunnel between Kohat and Peshawar. Same is the case of Kohat Cantonment. Even the businessmen, shopkeepers and students, living in the cantonment area, are frisked at the checkpoints twice a day.
“Our business has also suffered badly owing to unnecessary checking and curbs on movement in the area,” said the owner of a famous cloth shop, Shams Brothers, who is running business at the western side of the Cantonment.
He said that shoppers usually requested to accompany them to the checkpoint and tell the security personnel that they had only come to buy clothes.
He said that sometimes the staff deputed at the three major entry points didn’t accept even the computerised identity cards and refused to allow them to pass through the cantonment to reach their homes.
The public transport has already been banned in the Cantonment and residents of KDA use Rawalpindi and Hangu highways while those living along the Indus Highway travel on Bannu road.
The ban has resulted in traffic congestion on the main city’s road from Hangu Chowk to Zero Point near Kohat University. The students are also stopped for checking while going to and coming back from their schools in hired vehicles.
The army has established a shopping mall in the cantonment area where restaurants, bakeries, grocery shops, general stores and a club are situated. “It depends on the mood of the security staff to allow the visitors,” a resident said.
The issue has been raised at every level by the local parliamentarians, who are unanimous in passing resolutions at public meetings against the attitude of security personnel deployed at different checkposts.
The president of Bazaar Trade Union, Haji Abid, told Dawn that hundreds of families of the army men visited Kohat Bazaar, especially Bara markets for purchasing foreign crockery and clothes, everyday. “But on the other hand our entry into the cantonment has been banned,” he added.
The vehicles bringing goods from Peshawar are not allowed to pass through the Kohat tunnel after 6pm and the drivers are asked to wait at the entry point till morning. The vehicles with a single person onboard are also not allowed to pass through the tunnel as presence of two persons in a vehicle is must for passing through the tunnel.
There is no hotel on both sides of the tunnel and the drivers have to sleep in their vehicles or approach the high-ups through businessmen to pass through the tunnel.
Carrying a camera is also not allowed in the cantonment but the security men hardly check handy-cams and cellular phone sets.
The tunnel has also been closed for Afghan nationals for the last two-and-half months for unknown reasons. Their entry was banned during Muharram under Section 144, which is still intact.
The Afghans have to take the lengthy Kohat-Rawalpindi-Peshawar route for the provincial capital and onwards to Afghanistan.
In the beginning the Afghans, who were not aware of the ban and thought that it would be lifted after Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain, remained stuck for several weeks in areas on both sides of Kohat.

Protesters attack grid station in Hangu

Source Dawn

Hundreds of protesters attacked a grid station and destroyed part of its boundary wall in Thall tehsil of Hangu district late on Friday night to vent their anger against prolonged loadshedding.
The protesters enraged by the no supply of electricity in bazaar area for last one month and over 20-hour daily loadshedding in other areas marched towards the grid station while raising slogans against the government and Pesco authorities.
During the protest, they also destroyed a portion of boundary wall of the grid, which promoted the staff to call police. The protesters dispersed peacefully after arrival of the police.
Sources said that the district police officer has initiated departmental action against the control room staff and Thall police, as they did not register a case against the protesters for damaging government property.

200 booked for damaging checkpost in Kohat

Source Dawn

Police registered cases against more than 200 protesters on Tuesday for blocking Hangu road at Muhammadzai area and damaging government property.
The protest was staged by students on Monday after arrest of a teacher of government high school in a terrorism case.
The protesting students, who were joined by residents of the area, had blocked Kohat-Hangu road five hours and burnt a police checkpost.
The protesters had damaged armoured personnel carrier of police and smashed windscreen of vehicles.
They also burnt the furniture of an under construction checkpost at Zawaki Banda and took away its doors and windows. A policeman was also injured in the incident.
The teacher was arrested for allegedly running a parallel policing system and attacking the alleged illegal occupants, belonging to Bezote tribe of adjacent Orakzai Agency, of the village’s land.
The highway, which was closed soon after the arrest of the teacher at 8am, was opened by the protesters after five hours following successful negotiations between the police and elders of the area.
The SHO of Cantt police station, Aqeeq Hussain, told Dawn that the arrested teacher, Azmat, was a fugitive and his name was present in the list of wanted people.
He had been booked under sections 324,395,452,427, 148 and 149 of Pakistan Panel Code, registered on December 10, 2011.
He and other members of Muhammadzai Welfare Organisation had injured policemen, who asked them to surrender during patrolling of the area last year, he added.

Fazlur Rehman in Company Bagh Kohat

Source The News

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said since 1985 all elected governments were removed on the charges of corruption, yet corrupt practices could not be controlled in the country.

Speaking at the ìIstehkam-e-Pakistan Conferenceî at the Company Bagh here on Tuesday, he said the rulers had failed to govern the country as the money of the poor was looted.

The JUI-F chief said Pakistan came into being in the name of an Islamic welfare state but the purpose was not achieved. He asked the rulers to mend their ways and stop corruption forthwith as Pakistan was in need of a strong and stable economic policy. The Maulana added the big political parties in the country were playing politics like gambling to secure power and were least concerned about the economic slide down. On the occasion, Colonel (R) Shehdad Khan along with several others announced to join the JUI-F.

SANA adds: Maulana Fazlur Rehman said if the US is holding talks with Taliban in Afghanistan after 10 years of bloodshed then why dialogues are not possible in Pakistan. He said the country would suffer if parliamentary resolutions were not implemented in letter and spirit.

The Maulana said until a stable economic policy was not introduced in the country the fate of the poor could not be changed. He said 60 percent budget of the country is being spent on defence of the country.

The JUI-F chief said the tradition of selling the nation through oral agreements should end now, adding the constitution of the country would have been secular if JUI-were not present in the parliament.

He said that interim steps were taken after Nato attack on Salala check post. He said 40,000 innocents were martyred in war against terrorism in Pakistan and loss of billions of dollars was also faced by Pakistan.

Bank guard shot dead in Kohat

Source Dawn

Unknown gunmen killed a police guard of a private bank branch in Bilitang village here on Thursday.
Police officials said that as a result of the firing constable Salahuddin of Bilitang police station died on the spot. They said that a private guard of the bank and people there did not try to stop or fire at the fleeing killers, who were two in number.
Later, DIG Masood Afridi, DPO Mubarik Zeb and other officials reached the scene to record statements of eyewitnesses, who were reluctant to say anything about the incident. Most of the shopkeepers in the area shut their businesses to avoid police interrogation.
Later, the constable was buried in Chakarkot area. His funeral was attended by a number of police officers and officials besides a large number of local people.
The DIG has ordered immediate inquiry into the incident while the police arrested the bank’s private guard and some other suspicious people after the initial interrogation. The Bilitang police registered a case against the unknown killers and have launched investigation.

Woman burnt to death in Kohat

Source Dawn

A woman was burnt to death in a fire caused due to gas leakage in a house in Chakar Kot area of the city on Tuesday.
The incident occurred in the house of Shahid, who is the clerk of the district coordination officer. The 80-year-old woman, mother of Shahid, sustained serious burn injuries and died instantly.
The city police registered a case on the complaint of the government servant and termed it an accidental death.

2 get life term for murder in Kohat

Source Dawn

A man and his grandson were awarded life imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court in a murder case here on Tuesday.

The convicts Sharf Khan and his grandson, Haysiat Khan, residents of Kachai village, had hijacked a Suzuki van and later killed its driver, Qismat Ali.
The body of the driver was found in Khadar Khel area on November 7, 2010.
The deceased was killed on Hangu road and the killers threw his body miles away on the Bannu road.
The Lachi police had traced and arrested the culprits.
The judge of anti-terrorism court after hearing conclusive arguments from both the sides announced the verdict.
They were later shifted to the Kohat district prison from the court.

Kohat Jail, Lakki sub-jail handed over to army

Source The News

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was told on Monday that the Kohat Central Jail and Lakki Marwat sub-jail had been handed over to Pakistan Army for conversion into detention centres where under-trial terrorists could be interrogated.

Briefing reporters after a cabinet meeting, Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that after proper identification and classification of the detainees arrested on terrorism charges and the under-trial prisoners would be shifted to detention centres in Kohat and Lakki Marwat.

“A list of hardcore militants has been handed over to the Special Branch,” he said, adding that some 107 prisoners had been shifted from the Central Jail Peshawar to other jails of the province.

The minister said the provincial government had requested the federal government and the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to obtain permission for installing jammers to block the use of mobile phones at the Central Prison, Peshawar.

Six militants, one security man killed in FR Kohat

Source Tribune

Six militants and one member of the peace militia were killed during a clash with militants in the Jowaki area of the Frontier Region (FR) Kohat on Sunday, official sources revealed.
Sources said that security forces have launched an operation against militants in FR Kohat where they pounded hideouts of militants and killed at least six of them. It was further revealed that Wahidur Rehman, a member of the peace militia in the area, was also killed during the clash.
One member of the paramilitary force was also killed when a land mine exploded during a search operation in the area, sources added.
Security forces have taken control of Duaboki, Guluno Tangay and Babu kaly and recovered a huge cache of weapons during the search operation in the area. Sources said that security forces were proceeding towards Tor Chappar and would soon take control of it.
Security forces have launched an operation in the FR Kohat areas which lead towards the Orakzai Agency connecting parts of Fata and is considered an important route connecting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with its southern districts.

Blast in Kohat

Source The News

A low intensity explosive device planted outside a house at Meri colony area in Kohat district Saturday went off with a big bang however, no loss to life reported, police said.

The local police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area.

Search operation in the adjoining localities was started.

The bomb was planted in a box beside the main gate of a house which inflicted minor damages at the entrance.

The reason behind the blast could be personal enmity and the possibility of sabotage had dismal chances in the incident, the local police said.

Govt to provide land for Karak university

Source Dawn

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved provision of land for establishment of a university in Karak and urged the federal government to take measures for realising the project.
The decision was taken in a meeting held here on Monday with Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti in the chair.
The meeting discussed possibilities of establishing sub-campus of Kohat University of Science and Technology and a separate university in Karak, however, the option for setting up a separate university in the district was approved.
Mr Hoti said that government was establishing higher education facilities in nook and corner of the province. Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan and its sub-campuses in different districts supplemented the fact, he added.
He vowed to provide land for establishment of university in Karak and undertake required legislation in that connection.
The meeting was also informed about the location of the proposed university. The resources of provincial government and royalty on oil and gas will be equally utilised to purchase land for the university.
Provincial Minister Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel, MPA Malik Qasim, Karak ANP provident Usman Gul Khattak, general secretary Zamir Bacha, Provincial Finance Secretary Sahibzada Saeed, Higher Education Secretary Farah Hamid, planning and development secretary, Kohat University vice-chancellor and Kohat Commissioner Sahibzada Anis Ahmad attended the meeting.
The chief minister said that people of Karak and adjacent districts would benefit from establishment of the university. The establishment of the university would help to eradicate backwardness and illiteracy from the area.

Slain ‘missing’ person laid to rest in Kohat

Source The New


A missing person who was found dead in Peshawar was laid to rest in Togh Bala graveyard here on Saturday.

Hundreds of people including Muhammad Farooq, son of late Maulana Abdur Rasheed Ghazi, former administrator of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, attended the funeral for the 35-year old Abdul Saboor.

Family sources said that Abdul Saboor, son of Zainul Abideen, along with his five brothers Abdul Basit, Abdul Majid, Abdul Qadoos, Abdul Shakoor and Abdul Baes used to run the bookshop named ‘Maktaba Madina’ in Urdu Bazaar Lahore. He used to supply copies of the Holy Quran to seminaries including Lal Masjid, the sources said.

Abdul Saboor along with his two brothers Abdul Basit and Abdul Majid, had gone missing four years back.

The body of Abdul Saboor was found dumped near the Haji Camp in Peshawar and was shifted to his village at night. He left behind a daughter and widow.

The sources said that Abdul Saboor had obtained a car through bank and it was later sold to someone. However, the same vehicle was used in a terror attack somewhere in Punjab, which apparently led to their arrest.

Lawyer Tariq Asad had already filed a case in the Supreme Court for their early recovery.

The intelligence agencies had confirmed to the Supreme Court that 11 missing persons including Abdul Saboor were under their custody and later they were shifted to the Adiala Jail. His two brothers, Abdul Basit and Abdul Majid, are still in the jail.

His family members have appealed to the chief justice of the Supreme Court and federal government to help release Abdul Majid and Abdul Basit.

Kohat tense on eve of Imam Hussain Chehlum

Source Dawn

Strict security measures and fear of any unpleasant incident have turned the Kohat city into a ghost town a day before Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), being observed on Sunday.
The Chehlum is observed on Safar 20 in the country, but in Kohat it has been rescheduled for Safar 27 (Sunday) for peace in the area.
Most of the traders kept their shops shut and attendance in the offices and educational institutions remained thin on Saturday, as the district administration had closed several roads of the city to traffic as part of security measures.
Commissioner Kohat Sahibzada Mohammad Anees chaired the 7th meeting during last few days concerning security on Saturday and appealed the elders from both the sects to observe restraint and remain peaceful.
The meeting, attended by sector commander of army in Darra Adamkhel, district coordination and district police officers and assistant political agent of Frontier Region, Kohat, gave final touches to the security plan and deployment of army and police personnel at various places.
The city bazaars gave a deserted look and traders of perishable items such as fruit and vegetables sold them at throw away prices due to closure of aH bazaars for the Chehlum on Sunday (today).
The business community complained that the police was not allowing people from the surrounding villages to enter the city bazaars. People on their part also didnotvisit bazaars and other parts of the city to avoid unnecessary frisking and questioning by the police and volunteers.
The artillery firing at the alleged hideouts of militants in the mountains touching Kohat, Orakzai Agency and Darra Adamkhel also added to the tense situation.
The artillery guns have been deployed close to the city near the Kohat tunnel and on OTS Road due to close proximity with the mountains.
The ear-piercing sound of the firing shook the houses and caused fear and panic among the city residents. Over 80 per cent of Kohat, a cantonment city, is semi-urban from where a large number of people daily visit the central city.
It is also the divisional and business headquarters of the Kurram Agency, Orakzai Agency, Hangu and Karak districts and Darra Adamkhel (frontier region) of Kohat from where thousands of buyers visit Kohat city daily for shopping and official work.
Wajid Ali Khan, proprietor of the famous China Electric Store, told this correspondent that though it was not holiday or Friday, there were no buyersbecause police were not allowing people to enter the city from other areas for last three days.
The shopkeepers will also keep their shops closed onSunday (today) due to the Chehlum procession, which passes through the main bazaar and its arteries.
The people from Kurram Agency, Orakzai Agency and Hangu also come to the city to join the mourners a week before the Chehlum to avoid ban on their entry, usually imposed to check entry of terrorists from tribal areas.
Syed Ghazanfar Ali, caretaker of Said Habib Iamambargah, also complained that the lawenforcement agencies resorted to strict checking in the city, which created hatred between the two sects.
Another imambargah was also situated in the propercity, which forced the district administration to take extraordinary steps for safety of the mourning processions.
Earlier, the mourners would hold main functions in the building of a girls` high school, which was closed two days before the Chehlum. Therefore, the government decided at a recent meeting to allow the observance of Chehlum only on Sundays so that holidays were not given on the working days.
An agreement in this regard was reached a fortnight ago with the effort of the Kohat commissioner under which Chehlum would be held on the very next Sunday after it was held all over the country.

Civil work of Kohat Tunnel rehabilitation completed

Source Business Recorder

National Highway Authority (NHA) has completed civil work in the rehabilitation of Kohat Tunnel and temporary lightening arrangements have also been made in this regard.

This was stated in the briefing on the project of Kohat Tunnel by the General Manager NHA at Kohat.
The Governor was told about the pace of progress on the under construction bridges on Indus Highway at Darra Adabmkhel which were destroyed because of the acts of terrorism and he was informed that one of the bridges will be fully rehabilitated within a month time.It was added that restoration of entire electronic system including installation of exhausts system is to be completed in two phases of which the first one will be ready through indigenous arrangements in near future while for the second phase orders have already been placed for import of certain gadgets which are expected within a few months.Talking during the briefing on the project by the General Manager of National Highway Authority at Kohat, the Governor also noted with appreciation that work on the construction of access roads on both sides of the new bridge is progressing well in accordance with the schedule.Speaking on the occasion the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Barrister Masood Kausar, while appreciating the pace of progress in the under construction new bridge over River Indus at Khushalgarh, expressed the confidence that it would be maintained to ensure timely completion.

Meanwhile, a delegation of elders from district Kohat also called on the Governor and apprised him about some of the problems which the people of the area have been facing.The members of the delegation led by an active social figure of the area, Sultan Hussein Shah particularly invited the attention of the Governor towards the lack of natural gas facility in certain parts of the district and requested him to help them in resolution of their grievances.

Governor KP escapes attempt on life

Source Pakistan Observer

Terrorist’s attack on a police party, deployed for Governor Khyber Pukhtunkhwa’s security duty, moments before governor’s visit to Garrison College Kohat Monday morning resulted in Shahadat of two cops.

Reports reaching from Kohat said the governor KP Barrister Masood Kausar was scheduled to visit the Garrison College Kohat Monday morning and the security of the venue was being beefed up with the deployment of heavy contingents of Police.

In the meanwhile, as the police sources said, a police mobile squad was returning after dropping the contingents at the venue, when it was ambushed by the unknown terrorists near Kohat cement factory at Rawalpindi road with sophisticated weapons.

The assault on the Police van resulted in martyrdom of two Policemen on board the vehicle. The miscreants as the reports said managed to slip away from the scene after committing the crime.

Heavy contingents of the Police and others security forces rushed to the site of the attack and kicked off the search operation but their hunt remained abortive as nobody could be netted. It was also learnt that entire staff of a roadside hotel near the scene was also found missing when enforcers of law reached the spot.

The police force and the security forces in Kohat, native town of Governor Kausar, had been attacked by the militants several times in the past which resulted in killing of scores of men in uniform as well as civilians.

Two policemen killed in Kohat ambush

Source The News

Two cops were killed when unidentified gunmen ambushed a van near the cement factory on the Kohat-Rawalpindi Road, local sources said on Monday.

The sources said that driver Munawwar Khan and Constable Jehanzeb were returning to the Gumbat Police Station after dropping some cops in Kohat city. When the van reached a hotel near the cement factory, the attackers opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicle, killing the two cops on the spot.

The gunmen managed to escape after committing the crime. A heavy contingent of the Bilitang Police Station arrived on the spot and shifted the bodies to the Liaqat Memorial Hospital for autopsy.

The police launched search operation after the attack and arrested several suspects.

A case was also registered with the Bilitang Police Station against the unknown attackers.

Meanwhile, funeral prayers for the slain cops were offered at the Kohat Police Lines. Later, the bodies were dispatched to their native towns for burial.

Transporters increase fare in Kohat at will

Source Dawn

Local transporters have increased fare on their own citing the recent hike in compressed natural gas price as a cause for it.
Under the law, only the district transport authority can increase or decrease fare of inter-city and intra-city transport vehicles. Ironically, the authority has no meeting for two years.
Though CNG price was increased by Rs8 of late, fare has almost been doubled leading to heated exchanges between commuters and transporters.
People said they used to pay Rs10 for van travel between Kohat city and Kacha Pakha on Hangu Road but after CNG price was hiked, the fare was increased 100 per cent.
They also complained of overcharging by transporters operating on KohatRawalpindi route and said of late, van fare from Kohat city to Rawalpindi went up from Rs180 to Rs1,000 due to suspension of CNG sale but the transport authority or traffic police disregarded it.
Mohammad Ijaz, who regularly travels between Kohat and Islamabad, complained of overloading by transporters in violation of traffic rules and said 16 to 18 passengers were huddled in vehicles against the seating capacity of 14.
He and other commuters demanded a reasonable increase in fare in view of the recent increase in CNG price.
They also called for end to overloading of transport vehicles.

Kohat tunnel turned into a suffocating ‘black hole’

Source Dawn

Built at a cost of Rs6 billion, the Kohat Friendship Tunnel has virtually been turned into a black hole due to non-repair of lights and the exhaust system, which were damaged by militants, causing nuisance to passengers.
Sources said that the National Highway Authority failed to renovate the tunnel connecting Peshawar with the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the last few years though its had been generating road tax worth millions every month since its opening in 2003.
Wishing anonymity, officials privy to the issue told this correspondent by phone from Islamabad that the contractor company closed the tunnel for repair in its first phase for 10 days in April last year.
They said that without carrying out any repair work the company was claiming Rs7.5 million, which turned into a dispute between the NHA and the company.
The sources said that the exhaust fans, imported by the Japanese construction company, were sold in scarp, but new ones had not been installed.
The NHA had decided in 2009 to float tenders to install new lights and exhaust system with a cost of Rs400 million after it was damaged by militants in 2008.
The sources said that some of the exhaust fans and lights were in working condition, but due to negligence in annual repairs they developed irreparable faults. The price of one exhaust fan was Rs10 million whereas the lights had to be imported from Italy, they added.
They claimed that the decision to award the tender to Siemens company had been made, but the start of repair work was taking too long.
At the time of the tunnel`s construction it was proposed that with the increase of rush, a second tunnel would be built by the NHA, which had got the training from the Japanese company. A
t that time the NHA had said that the second tunnel would be constructed in2011, but the number of vehicles using the tunnel passed the limit within three years of its opening.
The 1.89-km tunnel has cut the travel time between Kohat and Peshawar by 20 minutes and unlike Kotal Pass it allows longer goods vehicle to pass through it.
Now the railways department is considering constructing a new tunnel and starting a train service between the southern region and Peshawar.
Thousands of people daily go to Peshawar offices and return the same day. Similarly, people also go to Peshawar to catch a train for Karachi.
Besides thousands of students the overseas Pakistanis would also get a convenient mode of transportation from Peshawar to southern districts with the launch of train service.
An official said that the project was in the pipeline, but the current situation of the PR was hampering the plan though it could be carried out by obtaining loan as was done in the case of friendship tunnel.

Protesters block Kohat-Hangu road over SSP man`s murder

Source Dawn

Hundreds of protesters closed the Kohat-Hangu highway on Monday against the killing of a prominent member of banned religious group.
Sources said that Abdul Wahab, a member of banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Sunni Supreme Council, was abducted from the station area of Hangu on Dec 31, 2011. They said that his body was recovered from Matni area near Darra Adamkhel and shifted to Hangu for burial on Sunday morning.
The sources said Mr Wahab`s body bore marks of violence and bullet wound in the head. The protesters alleged that the victim was picked up by the law-enforcement agencies and later killed.
Earlier, Khasadar Force of Darra Adamkhel was informed that a beheaded body of a man was lying on the main road. An administrative official of Darra Adamkhel told this correspondent the body of Mr Wahab was found in the `nogo` region of Matni, located between Kohat and Peshawar in the settled area. The protesters were chanting slogans against the government and demanding early arrest of the culprits responsible for the murder.
Some police officers visited the protesters and asked them to open the road, but they refused to disperse till the Kohat commissioner or other high official would come for talks with them.
They said that they wanted to present their demands before the senior officers and obtain a guarantee for the constitution of a high-level inquiry into the murder of the religious leader.
The highway was closed till filing of this report and hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the Kohat and Hangu districts on Monday night.
According to sources, the banned SSP members, pres ent at the funeral, warned the government and intelligence agencies to stop killing of their men and announced to form a strategy to stop such cases.

Imam Hussain’s chehlum rescheduled in Kohat

Source Dawn

The leaders of Shia community here have accepted the request of Sunnis for observing the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) on the first Sunday after Safar 20 every year instead of Friday.
The district administration notified the event’s schedule here the other day.
The Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) is observed on Safar 20 in the country, except for Kohat and Hangu where it is marked on Safar 25 under the 1986 Junejo-Moosvi peace agreement.
As the event is to fall on Friday this year, chairman Sunni Supreme Council of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat Javed Ibrahim Paracha requested Shia leaders and local administration to delay it fearing the Chehlum procession on the day may disrupt Friday prayers in Hazrat Haji Bahadar mosque and other mosques in sensitive areas.
To discuss the matter, Sunni and Shia leaders and bosses of local administration gathered at the office of Kohat district coordination officer Shahidullah Khan here.
Shia leaders led by central secretary general Tehrik-i-Fiqah-i-Jafria Pakistan Mazhar Ali Shah accepted the request and said the community was ready to observe the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) on Sunday (Safar 27) instead of Friday (Safar 25) for peace in the area.
Mr Paracha, who was also in attendance, expressed the hope that the agreement would be implemented in letter and spirit. He also urged the administration to ensure security of residential and commercial areas as the Chehlum processions were taken out in the area

Protesters block oil supply from Shakardarra

Source Dawn

The blockade of route used for transportation of oil from Shakardarra oilfields here continued on the second day on Sunday as the residents refused to end strike till provision of natural gas to their area.
A representative of SNGPL and officers of the district tried to persuade the protesters to end the strike, but they said that they would lift the blockade only when a responsible SNGPL or government official would give them a schedule for work on the gas project.
The elders of Shakardarra, where huge oil and gas reserves were found in 2001, had been setting deadlines for the government and the SNGPL to provide gas to the area according to the relevant law.
They said that former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali had directed the SNGPL in 2004 to provide gas to Shakardarra areas. Later, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti also issued similar orders in 2009 and 2011, which had no been implemented so far, they said.
Imtiaz Qureshi advocate told this correspondent by phone that they had set a five-day deadline for the SNGPL to announce work for provision of gas in villages where it was being produced.
Deputy district revenue officer Shahid Ali and a police officer also visited the place where the people had staged a sit-in to persuade them to open the route.
However, the protesters refused to do so unless they were given assurance of gas provision by a responsible SNGPL or government official.
They said that they were experiencing 20-hour loadshedding daily and the gas facility, which was their constitutional right, had not been provided to the area.
The residents said that they would continue their strike if their genuine demand was not accepted.