Posts Tagged ‘Shangla’

Three militants killed, 3 policeman martyred in NWA and Shangla

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Three militants were killed and as many policemen including an Assistant Sub-Inspector martyred in clashes in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) and in militants attack on check post in Shangla.
Militants attacked Razmek Army Camp in NWA with rockets and heavy artillery fire on Sunday morning. The security forces immediately retaliated…

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Three policemen dead in Taliban attack

PESHAWAR: Around two dozen Taliban armed with rocket launchers and automatic weapons attacked a police check post in northwest Pakistan Sunday, killing three policemen and wounding another, police said. The militants struck before dawn in Shangla, a district of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near Swat where the army claimed to have flushed out Taliban rebels [...]

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Via DAWN.com

Three killed as van falls into dike

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MANSEHRA – At least three persons died including a PML-Q worker, when a pick-up fell into a deep dike at Sangri Road in Besham, tehsil Alpuri, district Shangla, on Sunday morning.
Police sources said a vehicle, loaded with relief goods to carry them from Besham to Sangra, went out of…

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Three killed on road

MINGORA, April 10: Three members of a family were killed when a pick-up truck plunged into a ravine in Kormung area of Shangla district on Sunday, police said.

Police said that the pick-up truck was going from Kormung to Ranial. The driver lost control over the steering while negotiating a narrow turn as a result the truck plunged into deep ravine. All three persons died on the spot. They had been identified as Musharraf Khan, local leader of PML-Q, Shahi Din and Hasnianullah. — Correspondent

Teachers warned

MANSEHRA, April 10: The executive district officer, education, Mansehra Umar Khan has said the education department will take legal action against the teachers whose children were getting education in private schools.

“We want to dispel the bad impression about the government schools and take legal action against the teachers whose children are enrolled in private schools,” said Umar Khan, while speaking at the concluding session of a 15-day teachers’ workshop in Balakot on Sunday.

The teachers from Balakot tehsil largely attended the workshop which focused on character building of the teachers to enhance education standard in schools.

Mr Khan said the provincial government had directed action against the teachers whose children were getting education
in private schools.

He said the people, even the poor preferred to admit their children in private schools as the public school teachers were not serious with their profession despite getting hefty salaries. — Correspondent

Young cricketer

SWABI, April 10: Mohammad Junaid Khan, young Pakistani fast bowler, said here on Sunday that the upcoming West Indies tour would be great test for him as he had to prove his worth.

Talking to Dawn in a programme arranged in his honour at his village, Mathra here, Mr Junaid said that the West Indies tour was his second outing after the recent World Cup in India. “I hope that I would get an opportunity to use the trip to prove my potential,” he said. “I am fully focused on the West Indies tour and trying my best to keep fit, which is all the more important.”

Mr Khan who played only a side match against England in the World Cup taking three wickets for 45, said he learnt a lot from the senior players during the course of the World Cup. — Correspondent

Riot victims’ anniversary

MANSEHRA, April 10: All arrangements to observe the first death anniversary of the April 12, 2010 riot victims have been finalised. A motorcyclist rally was held on Sunday to this effect, while a large number of people from Balakot announced to take part in a public meeting to be held in Abbottabad on Tuesday.

The motorcyclists holding banners marched though various roads in the city and its suburbs. They were also raising slogans and demanded registration of FIR of the April 12 incident. Meanwhile, a consultative meeting of traders, transporters and leaders of the Tehrik-i-Subah Hazara was held in Balakot to finalise programme for attending the Tuesday’s meeting in Abbottabad.

Speaking on the occasion former MPA Syed Mazhar Qasim, former tehsil nazim Syed Junaid Qasim, president of the traders body Raja Tahir and others said a big convoy would leave the Balakot for Abbottabad.—Correspondent

Lawyers declared defaulters

CHITRAL, April 10: More than half of the members of the Chitral bar association would not be able to participate in the annual elections to be held on April 14 as the Provincial Bar Council has barred them from doing so on account of failing to clear their outstanding dues.

Sources in the association told Dawn three candidates had already been declared successful unopposed for the offices of vice president, general secretary and treasurer as nomination papers of their respective opponents were rejected after being declared defaulters by the Provincial Bar Council.

The strength of the district bar association is said to be 127 out of which only 50 had cleared their outstanding dues to the bar council.

The sources said five candidates were contesting election for the office of president including Niaz Ahmed Niazi, Khurshid Hussain Mughal, Mir Dullah Jan, Sirajud Din Rabbani and Ghulam Hazrat Inqilabi advocate.—Correspondent

Teachers’ protest

PESHAWAR, April 10: Despite heavy rain on Sunday the ad-hoc teachers of Institute of Business and Management Sciences (IBMS) of the Agricultural University continued their protest camp in favour of their demands.

The protesting teachers demanded of the government to immediately release their salaries not paid to them for the last few months and also regularise their services.

They had displayed banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands. The angry protesters also chanted slogans for release of their salaries.

President of the IBMS Shah Hassan said vice chancellor of the Agriculture University has made their lives miserable by not paying their salaries for last few months.

Talking to Dawn, a protesting teacher said he was not able to pay tuition fee of his two children due to non-payment of salaries. “The administration of the school has told my children that if their fee was not paid then it was possible to shut the door of the school for them,” he said. —Bureau Report

Industrial fair

SWABI, April 10: Representatives of about 50 national and multinational companies are expected to participate in the ‘Industrial Open House and Career Fair’ to be held at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology on April 14, 15.

This was stated by Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid, Pro-Rector (academic) while presiding over a meeting on Sunday. He said all arrangements had been made for the fair.

The representatives of the companies would witness the final-year projects of both undergraduate and graduate students, he said, adding, the companies would also conduct interviews where some brilliant students might be selected on the spot.

More than 80 projects prepared by a group of students would be displayed. — Correspondent

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Via DAWN.com

Swat road mishap claims three lives

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At least three men killed including a local leader of PML(Q) when a pick-up fell in a deep gorge in Shangla here in Swat on Sunday.
According to the local TV, a speedy pick-up heading towards Alpuri from Ronial fell into a deep gorge in district Shangla. Resultantly, all the…

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Revival of trout farms in Swat

MILITANCY not only destroyed tourism in Swat in 2005, the flourishing business of trout valued at around Rs44 million, also suffered irreparable losses over the next two years until 2007.

The 18 fish farms and four hatcheries of trout almost went out of business as tourists stopped visiting the Swat valley and most hotels closed down due to insecurity.

The cold-water trout is considered by many as the most delicious fish. It was not only a major source of income for fishermen, hoteliers and others in Swat, but a factor in promoting hotels and tourism as tourists coming to the scenic valley were often keen to try the delicacy.

Although private trout farms were operational in Bahrain, Madyan and Kalam since late 1980, it was in 1994 that the government decided to support the business. Of the estimated 162 tons trout produced in 2005, 37 per cent or 60 tons came from Swat. Other trout producing places are Chitral, Kohistan, Kaghan, Dir and Shangla in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir and Balochistan.

However, the yield in Swat dropped to 40 tons in 2007 and trout business from 2007-2009 came almost to an abrupt stop as lawlessness took hold in Swat.

Muhammad Saeed told this scribe that his spring trout hatchery in Madyan was the largest trout farm in the country. “I was in this business since 1988 and had 309,000 Rainbow Trout worth Rs12.5 million when the Taliban poisoned the 50 ponds of my farm on September 27, 2005. I cried as I saw my fish dying,” he recalled.

According to Saeed, his efforts to seek compensation from the then MMA government were nearing success when the compensation bill of Rs8.6 million was approved, but the money never arrived. “Before other fish farm owners and I could be compensated, the MMA government left office on completion of its term. I held many futile meetings with high-ups in the current provincial government, but all in vain,” he lamented.

Down but not out, Saeed is reconstructing his hatchery with support from the Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PRRSA) and is hoping to start fish business again by September this year.

In a bid to revive the trout business in Swat, a joint initiative by the PRRSA and Early Recovery of Agriculture and Livelihood Programme (ERALP) supported by the Italian government was launched in February 2010.

Project director of the ERALP Sanaullah Khan said the first phase of the post-militancy reconstruction work was nearing completion when the devastating floods struck in 2010. “We supplied construction material worth Rs10.8 million and technical support to fish farm owners in the first phase of the rehabilitation programme. The second phase consisted of providing eggs, incubators and feed, but the floods came and destroyed everything,” he added.

Any hopes of revival of trout industry in Swat were washed away by the unprecedented floods. Some 14 farms were about to be restored under the USAID- funded firms project for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) before the overflowing Swat River destroyed 11 of them. Six of the remaining 11 farms were severely damaged.

Damages to fish farms were so severe that many owners lost hope of restarting their business. However, their confidence was restored when PRRSA and ERALP damage assessment teams offered help.

Rasheed Khan, president of the Swat Trout Farms Association, said that he had lost 3,000 kg of rare Rainbow Trout when militants destroyed his farm. “My efforts to rebuild the farm were severely hampered by the floods. I lost all hopes of restarting the business when unbelievably a team sent by PRRSA met me just five days after the floods on August 1, 2010,” he said.

Khan added that PRRSA was helpful in reconstruction of fish farms. “My restored farm is already functional. I got 125,000 eggs, six incubators and 23 bags of feed from PRRSA. The baby fish are growing faster than I had expected,” he said.

He expected his first batch of trout to be ready in six years for sale by the end of May. “With the local feed, the fish took 20-24 months to reach the desired saleable size and weight. With the American feed, my fish have already crossed the fingerlings stage of three to four inches in four months. The foreign feed is working like magic,” he remarked.

The ERALP project director Sanaullah said that 22 farms including four hatcheries at Madyan and Bahrain were in different stages of construction. He said work on four farms in Kalam could not be started as the area was inaccessible after floods. “Five farms are already housing the fish in different stages. Initially we distributed 285,000 fine quality eyed ova, 18 incubators and specially formulated fish feed, all imported from the US. Later we gave 75,000 more eggs,” he explained.

Sanaullah claimed the imported eyed ova were of better quality and were cheaper than the locally available trout eggs despite transportation costs. “The babies from these eggs take up to 12 months to reach the desired market size and weight. This is due to the fine quality of fish and feed imported from the US,” he said.

The ERALP also trained farm owners and workers. “The purpose of the trainings was to educate them about the ways to produce more and better trout,” Sanaullah said. The PRRSA, ERALP and STFFA are expecting produce of five tons trout in 2011 and hopefully 184 tons by 2013 from the upcoming 22 farms in Swat.

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Via DAWN.com

Donkeys scurry where doctors should

PESHAWAR, Feb 4: Government hospitals and basic health units in Karak look from outside as if they are for animals and inside they look deserted, according to an opposition member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

“You see donkeys lumbering in the grounds of these health facilities but no doctors inside,” mused MPA Malik Qasim Khan Khattak of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal during the question hour in the assembly on Friday. The reason, he said, was that the medical and technical staff sanctioned for the health care units had not been appointed for long.

He said that the government had spent millions of rupees on the construction of these health facilities, but doctors and other staff were not being provided so far. He said that local people had to spend more and go to Kohat or Peshawar for treatment.

MPA Shah Hussain Khan also complained about the shortage of doctors and health facilities in Battagram district.

Answering members` questions on behalf of health minister Zahir Ali Shah, law minister Arshad Abdullah admitted that most of the health units in far-off areas were without doctors. He said that one reason for that was that doctors did not want to join their duties in far-flung districts because of security reasons. He said that the government would soon introduce a bill concerning postings and transfers in health and education departments, which would resolve the issue to some extent.

Deputy Speaker Khushdil Khan, who was presiding over the proceedings, took a strong notice of the continuous absence of health minister and asked senior minister Rahim Dad Khan to ensure presence of ministers in the house.

“I will take action if the ministers do not follow rules of business,” he warned and added that he had issued directives to the ministers last week to ensure their presence during the assembly proceedings. He said that important questions were kept pending due to the absence of ministers.

Interestingly, the law minister was giving incomplete replies to lawmakers` questions on behalf of the chief minister, who holds portfolios of five major departments and other ministers. Other ministers, who had been skipping the house proceedings, were Murid Kazim, Ahmad Hussain Shah, Aqil Shah and Sher Azam Wazir.

Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani showed his concern over the absence of ministers and said that the lack of interest on the part of the cabinet members had embarrassed the lawmakers. He said that the MPAs did not attend proceedings because of the non-availability of ministers. He said that the government had convened the session to fulfill constitutional formalities instead of addressing issues.

Information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain suggested that the speaker should convene a meeting of the parliamentary leaders to ensure ministers` presence in the proceedings.

Through his call attention notice MPA Javid Iqbal drew attention of the house towards non-availability of gas in the district headquarters hospital, Swabi. He said that despite payment the SNGPL had yet to give connection to the hospital.

Earlier, the Speaker administered oath to Rashaad Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Q, who was elected from Shangla in the by-elections. The house offered fateha for the victims of Badbher bomb blast. The Speaker adjourned the proceedings till Monday morning.

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Via DAWN.com

3 militants killed

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SWAT (Online) – At least three militants were killed during clashes between the security forces and the militants here in Aloch area of district Shangla on Tuesday. According to sec-urity sources, they conducted search operation in Aloch, hilly area in district Shangla. The militants started indiscr-iminate firing at the security…

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Troops killed three militants in Swat

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As many as three terrorists have been killed in a clash with the security forces in Swat, report said on Tuesday. The miscreants opened fire on the security forces who were on a search operation in Alooch a mountainous area of Shangla District. The troops repulsed the attack killing at…

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54 villages swept away in Upper Swat, Shangla floods: GCO

General Commanding Officer Maj. Gen Javed Iqbal has said that floods in Upper Swat and Shangla caused much destruction leaving no sign of 54 villages. While 5000 tourists are still trapped in Kalam.
Briefing media representatives during his visit to flood affected areas Maj Gen Javed Iqbal said that…

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UN vows to facilitate IDPs

SHANGLA – Spokesman for United Nations Hussainullah has strongly rejected the news item that United Nation has closed its relief camps in Jalozai and Palosi areas due to non-availability of funds.
Talking to journalists here on Tuesday, he said that UN would not close its relief camps but it would…

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6.2 magnitude quake jolts upper partes of country

A moderate earthquake with an intensity of 6.2 has rattled upper parts of country including federal capital Islamabad early on Sunday morning before dawn, a private TV reported.
According to met office, the areas received the shocks of tremor, included upper and lower Dir, Swat, Bunir, Hangu, Malakand, Shangla, Nowshera,…

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Terrorists start defaming Pak army in Swat

The terrorists camouflaged in military uniform have started harassing residents in Swat and its adjacent areas to defame Pakistan army.
According to military sources, such incident happened in village Akla, 5 kilometer North West of District Shangla where terrorists in uniform with covered faces stormed in house of Haji…

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Nine killed as rain plays havoc in NWFP

Torrential rain and snowfall played havoc in upper parts of the Frontier province as nine people were killed and at least six injured in Shangla, Battagram and Kohistan districts. Separately, a plane of a private airline with 119 passengers and crew members on board skidded off the runaway at the…

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Six terrorists nabbed in operation

RAWALPINDI (APP) – During last 24 hours, security forces conducted search and clearance operation at Jabrai Chinkolai near Khawazakhela, Gidar Sar near Shangla, Shin Bargane, Shalun near Shalpin, Chungai near Than and apprehended six suspected terrorists during operation Rah-e-Rast in Malakand division .
Security forces also conducted search and clearance…

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Terror comes back to Swat

PESHAWAR – At least 41 persons, including four personnel of the security forces, were killed and 53 others injured when a suicide bomber ripped through his explosive laden car into a military convoy near a check post in Alpori area of District Shangla on Monday.
Sources said that the…

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At least 32 killed, 46 injured in Shangla suicide attack: military

At least 32 people, most of them civilians, were killed Monday when suicide attacker struck a military convoy near a busy market in northwest Pakistan, a military official said. The bomber targeted the convoy as it passed through a security checkpost near a crowded bazaar in Alpuri town in Shangla,…

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