Tag: Peshawar

  • Peshawar: Blast on Warsak Road injures seven, including three children

    Peshawar: Blast on Warsak Road injures seven, including three children

    Update: A blast shook the buildings of Warsak Road early in the morning on Tuesday in Peshawar. At least seven people, including three children, were injured in the explosion as confirmed by the police and hospital sources, reports Geo News.

    The blast took place around 9:10 am on Tuesday.

    SSP Operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi said the Machnigate Police Station’s mobile vehicle was on routine patrol when the bomb exploded.

    “As soon as the police mobile passed by, the blast occurred three seconds later. The militants wanted to target the police vehicle,” he said, speaking with Geo News.

    The police official said no arrests have been made yet, but the involved network will be apprehended soon.

    Abbasi added that the CCTV footage of the explosion is being examined.

    The police have confirmed that the explosion was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast.

    The official revealed that four kilogrammes of explosives, planted in a cemented block on the side of the road, were used in the blast. The area has been cordoned off while further investigation is under way, Warsak Superintendent of Police Arshad Khan said.

    “It would be premature to say who was the target,” SP Arshad Khan said speaking with journalists as reported by Geo.

    The injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital where two children are said to be in critical condition. All of them are between seven to 10 years of age, the hospital’s spokesperson told Geo News.

    Rescue officials told Geo that the glass windows of two vehicles and nearby buildings were broken due to the intensity of the explosion.
    Mayor Metropolitan Zubair Ali told journalists that the explosion near a school was an attempt to disturb peace and order.

    “The explosion near educational institutions is unfortunate.”

    Pakistan has witnessed a considerable increase in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

    Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) in a report showed that the country experienced 34 per cent increase in anti-state violence last month, reported Dawn.

  • Intra-Party Polls: Barrister Gohar Khan elected new PTI chairman

    Intra-Party Polls: Barrister Gohar Khan elected new PTI chairman

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chose Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the new party chairman on Saturday after former Prime Minister Imran Khan nominated him to contest for the top position.

    PTI’s chief election commissioner announced the results, saying that Barrister Gohar Khan got elected unopposed after today’s intra-party elections.

    Niazullah Niaz said that Umar Ayub got elected as PTI’s central general secretary. On the other hand, Ali Amin Gandapur and Dr Yasmin Rashid were chosen as the party’s provincial presidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, respectively.

    As per the guidelines of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), PTI was scheduled to hold its intra-party elections today, adding “finishing touches” to its preparations.

    The primary polling centre is established at Rano Garhi near the Motorway Toll Plaza in Peshawar, and Ali Zaman, the Presiding Officer for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has arrived at the location.

    Zaman said while talking to Geo News that the PTI Chief Election Commissioner, Niazullah Niazi, has arrived at the centre. He also said that the number of registered voters is more than 20 million for the polls.

    “The vote can be cast through an online app and ballot paper at the election centre in Peshawar,” Zaman told Geo News.

    Zaman said all candidates will be elected unopposed.

  • How to find a snatched mobile phone? Peshawar police knows the way

    How to find a snatched mobile phone? Peshawar police knows the way

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have devised a way to curb the snatching and stealing of cell phones, a menace for most of the major cities of the country. FMC (Find my Cell), an app launched by police authorities at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines Peshawar, will help trace your stolen phone.

    Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ashfaq Anwar has said that the new app will connect registered mobile dealers to local police stations to stop the sale of snatched or stolen mobile phones.

    Registered dealers, in case of any suspicion, will get details of all the stolen and snatched phones. The dealers will be registered after verification from the concerned police stations and concerned associations.

    All the mobile dealers would be given forms of registration. These forms will hold the details of all those who are selling phones to them. “This will be uploaded to a database that will be available on the FMC,” CCPO added.

    CCPO Ashfaq Anwar said the local police were taking measures to improve law and order and stop the snatching and theft of phones and using modern technology.

  • Why is a Pakistani journalist on the ‘most wanted list’?

    Why is a Pakistani journalist on the ‘most wanted list’?

    Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has released the latest “most wanted terrorists” list, which shockingly includes the name of a prominent tribal journalist and author, Ihsanur Rehman Dawar.

    The counter-terrorism department on Tuesday placed the name of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) assistant director Ihsanur Rehman Dawar on the list of most wanted fugitives announcing a bounty of Rs1 million for information leading to his arrest.

    Mr Dawar, a former journalist and an author, is part of the list along with over 150 other proclaimed offenders. The profile shared by the CTD has incorrectly named him Ihsanullah Khan.

    Dawar expressed shock at the inclusion, stating that he has been residing in Peshawar since 2011 and has no criminal record.

    Dawar asserts that his father’s name, home address, and picture are correctly identified as per Dawn.

    “This is how our institutions are working. They have ruined my reputation,” Dawar lamented, vehemently denying any connections to militants within his family.

    The CTD, in a statement, insisted that Ihsanullah Khan was nominated in an FIR for attacking an army picket in North Waziristan in 2019, leading to his proclamation as a wanted offender.

    The department justified the Rs1 million bounty, claiming it was recommended by the district police officer and duly notified by the home department.

    The Miramshah Press Club criticized the CTD’s move, describing Dawar as an “honorary member” and denouncing the reward for his arrest.

    The case in question involves a 2019 firing incident at the Khar Kamar checkpost, which resulted in casualties. Dawar was declared a proclaimed offender, but lawmakers Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were acquitted in 2020.

    The CTD’s most-wanted list, however, has raised eyebrows, with several inaccuracies noted.

    The inclusion of surrendered TTP spokesperson Ihsanullah Ihsan, and individuals previously reported dead in Afghanistan, such as Omar Mukarram Khurasani, has underscored concerns about the authenticity and verification of information within the CTD’s records.

    Some of the individuals on the wanted list include Jalaluddin, Muhammad Asif Khan, Asif Siddiqui, Muhammad Fayyaz, Inam Qari, Altaf Hussain, Muhammad Rizwan, Shehkar Din Bhatti, Wajid Khan, Niaz Muhammad, Naqab Khan, Kaleem Khan, Zarif Saeed, Yasir Ilyas and Muhammad Kashif.

    According to the fresh list, Said Qadar of Mardan carries the highest reward of Rs8 million while Zahid Qadar of the same district carries Rs7 million head money.

    In October this year, to combat militancy effectively, the CTD launched an aggressive initiative aimed at apprehending 135 of the most-wanted terrorists, announcing bounties on their heads.

    The CTD unveiled a comprehensive list containing the names and photographs of the 135 most-wanted terrorists. This initiative, designed to combat militancy, also included the unprecedented inclusion of a female suspect in the K-P province.

    The alleged female terrorist, known as Quratulain, is believed to be the wife of Iqbal, also known as Bali Khiyara, who was a prominent commander of a terrorist group in DI Khan. Iqbal’s life came to an end in a recent encounter with the CTD.

  • MDCAT saga: Alleged test leak in Sindh, retesting in KP

    MDCAT saga: Alleged test leak in Sindh, retesting in KP

    Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2023 has been embroiled in major controversy involving cheating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh. The test is mandatory for admission in disciplines of medicine and dentistry.

    Sindh

    A retest was conducted on Sunday, November 19, across four centres in Sindh as the previous one was cancelled due to overwhelming complaints of cheating. Almost 41,000 students appeared for a total of 4,790 seats — 3,600 for MBBS and 1,190 for dental studies. As per the reports, answer sheets are circulating on social media, fueling speculation that the exam paper was leaked.

    This raised questions over the feasibility of leaking the entire paper through social media, given the ban on phones and smart watches at test centres. Additionally, students have expressed dissatisfaction with the test’s content, citing questions beyond the prescribed syllabus and errors in the answer keys, reports The News.

    In a recent statement, President PMDC Dr Rizwan Taj has acknowledged social media reports alleging the leak of MDCAT paper conducted under the supervision of DOW University of Health Sciences (DUHS). He asserted that both the managing authorities-DUHS vice-chancellor and Sindh Chief Secretary-have denied the allegations, saying the news is not correct and question papers were released by students post-test at 4pm as the test had ended at 2pm.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    After the cancellation of the September 10 test in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the exam is to be reconducted on November 26. A plan has been devised according to which police will be deployed to provide security to the staff involved in in transportation of test material to all centres in the designated cities, including Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Mardan, Dir Lower, Swat and Abbottabad. A total of 46,220 candidates will appear in test.
    To ensure transparency police will be also be involved during printing, packaging, transportation and scanning of examination material inside and outside Khyber Medical University Peshawar from 20 November to 30.

    Section 144 will be imposed around the centres, mobile phone will remain jammed, power supply will remain uninterrupted from 9am to 3pm on date of test are also part of the plan, says the report by Dawn.

  • Security forces kill high-value terrorist commander in Peshawar

    Security forces kill high-value terrorist commander in Peshawar

    The military’s media wing has stated on Thursday that four terrorists, including a known militant commander, were killed by security forces in an intelligence-based operation in Peshawar.

    According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted due to the presence of militants in Badaber area of Peshawar District.

    During the operation, the Pakistani troops “effectively engaged” the miscreants which led to the killing of the four terrorists including a “high-value terrorist” Samiullah alias Shenay.

    As per the statement, militants Salman alias “Ahmed”, Imran alias “Muhammad” and Hazrat Umar alias “Khalid” were wanted by law enforcement agencies.

    “Weapons, ammunition, and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, including extortion and target killings in the area,” said the ISPR.

    Earlier, on Wednesday, security forces killed seven terrorists in the Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

  • Fearing Taliban, Afghan singers go to Court against deportation

    Fearing Taliban, Afghan singers go to Court against deportation

    Fearing persecution In Taliban’s Afghanistan, Afghan singers residing in Pakistan have filed a plea against the government’s deportation plan in Peshawar High Court. The three petitioners are Hashmatullah Omed, Rafi Hanif, and Hameed Shahdai, accompanied by a large number of Afghan singers and musicians who are claiming that they have lived in Pakistan for years as refugees.

    The bench at the PHC consists of Justice Abdul Shakoor and Justice Syed Arshad Ali. It directed the deputy attorney general Hazrat Said to file a reply on behalf of the federal government to the petition filed by the singers.

    The petitioners’ counsel, Mumtaz Ahmad, informed the court that almost four identical petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the forced repatriation of Afghans. He also suggested that it would be appropriate for the high court to wait for the outcome of those petitions in the top court and to decide the instant plea in light of that decision. The traditionally conservative Taliban government has inadvertently forced these artists to take refuge in Pakistan with their families like many others. They are registered by the UN refugee agency, given a token number, and their cases are under process. They requested the court to issue directives to the government to allow them to live unbothered with their refugee status in Pakistan.

    The same question was asked to Sarfraz Bugti, interim Interior Minister of Pakistan, to which he responded that such individuals need to opt for a proper procedure of asylum.

    The government, however, is in no mood to retract their decision. In a recent statement made by an official in an interview with the Tribune, it was reiterated that the aim is to repatriate all the illegal Afghans- almost 1.7 million in a year. Certain people will be allowed to stay in Pakistan before their settlement in USA, UK, and Canada only on the request made by these countries who have promised asylum to these Afghans. They have been informed by Pakistan to speed up the process.

  • Peshawar students protest after schoolmate shot dead by robbers

    Peshawar students protest after schoolmate shot dead by robbers

    On Thursday, students from Edward College, Peshawar, gathered to protest against the murder of their fellow student who was killed in broad daylight on Wednesday.

    The 17-year-old student, Hasan Tariq, was on his way home after school in a rickshaw when two robbers stopped him and asked for his phone. Tariq, however, resisted, so they shot him on the spot.

    Dawn reported that the incident took place in the red zone area which encapsulates the provincial assembly, Peshawar High Court, Corps Commander House, Governor’s House and other government offices.

    The students demonstrated outside Peshawar Press Club, had closed Saddar Road for the time being, while some protested outside the provincial assembly.

    The young protesters held placards, chanted slogans, and raised concerns about the increasing crime rate in Peshawar. They also condemned the police administration and called for justice for their school-mate.

    Tariq’s parents were also present at the demonstration.

    Caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan has taken notice of the incident.

    According to a statement, he ordered suspension of the relevant station house officer and directed the police chief to submit a report into the student’s killing.

    “Those involved in the murder will be arrested and brought to justice,” Khan stated.

    Simultaneously, the caretaker minister for information, Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, visited the Manga Dargai area of Charsadda district, the native village of Hasan Tariq.

    He also visited Edwards College and met with Principal Shujaat Ali Khan and other faculty members.

  • Peshawar students to campaign against use of drugs in educational institutions

    Peshawar students to campaign against use of drugs in educational institutions

    The students of the University of Agriculture in Peshawar have decided on starting a mission to prevent use of drugs in educational institutions.

    According to reports, the administration has become active to protect the students of the University of Agriculture from drugs. The Anti-Drug Awareness Committee held a meeting at the campus.

    According to experts present at the meeting, drugs give temporary relief by increasing hormones, but later they cause permanent destruction; adding that the addict becomes a burden on his family and society.

    The students have decided to join hands with the government and social organisations to play an active role in the anti-drug campaign.

    According to the report of a non-governmental organisation, 7.6 million people use drugs in Pakistan, including 78% men and 22% women.

  • SNGPL cracks down on gas theft, imposing Rs3 crore in fines

    SNGPL cracks down on gas theft, imposing Rs3 crore in fines

    In an ongoing endeavour to combat gas theft, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has successfully identified and addressed 55 instances of unauthorised gas connections, resulting in the imposition of fines amounting to Rs30 million.  

    According to APP, these concerted efforts have been executed across various regions of Pakistan. 

    According to a company spokesperson, within the city of Lahore, the local SNGPL team has taken decisive action by discontinuing 15 gas connections due to unlawful gas consumption, in addition to two connections linked to the unauthorised use of compressors.  

    Furthermore, 47 cases of underbilling have been meticulously scrutinised, leading to the initiation of a First Information Report (FIR) against the offenders. 

    In Bahawalpur, the SNGPL team has demonstrated their commitment by disconnecting seven connections attributed to compressor usage and 16 connections associated with unauthorised gas consumption.  

    Additionally, 17 cases of underbilling have been diligently processed. The company has levied a fine of Rs40,000 on those engaged in pilfering gas. 

    In Multan, 11 connections have been severed due to illegal gas consumption, while nine have been disconnected for compressor usage. Six instances of underbilling have undergone rigorous examination, resulting in the imposition of appropriate fines. 

    In Sheikhupura, one connection has been disconnected due to compressor usage, and a comprehensive review of 63 underbilling cases has been undertaken.  

    In both Peshawar and Karak, 44 gas connections have been terminated owing to direct gas consumption and the presence of illicit connections. Additionally, two FIRs have been filed against those involved in gas theft. 

    In Rawalpindi, six gas connections have been discontinued due to direct and unauthorised gas consumption, with one connection linked to the use of compressors.