LOWER DIR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami on Saturday launched campaigns for the by-election of the Balambat tehsil chairman on April 28.

Awami National Party has also convened a workers’ convention in this regard on April 16 in Odigram.

PPP and JUI-F have withdrawn their candidates in favour of the JI’s Imranuddin Advocate, while PTI has fielded Shakir Shuiab, a brother of former tehsil chairman Asim Shuiab, who has been in hiding since the May 9, 2023 riots.

ANP has fielded Mohammad Hayat for the slot.

A former district councillor, Syed Alam Shah, a PTI disgruntled candidate, is also in the running.

The JI held a meeting in this regard at the hujra of former MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan.

PTI also held a meeting at the house of Shakir Shuiab to formally launch the election drive.

JI has won the seat once and PTI twice in the past.

The seat fell vacant when Asim Shuaib failed to return to the house despite repeated calls by the election commission as he was wanted by the police in the May 9 riots case.

The ECP later announced a by-election to fill the seat.

YOUTH KILLED: A youth, identified as Sudais, 21, was killed when a car he was travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a ravine in Anwarabad area on Saturday.

He was a resident of Hajiabad area. A Rescue 1122 team shifted the body to a hospital.

Meanwhile, a mud house collapsed due to rain in Safary village of Khall on Saturday. However, the inmates remained unhurt as they came out of the house before it caved in.

BOARD EXAMS: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Malakand’s controller of examinations Mohammad Naseem Khan on Saturday said the annual examinations for grade 9th and 10th would commence from April 18.

Talking to reporters here, he said all arrangements for holding the examination had been finalised.

He said more than 3,000 supervisory staff had been deputed in over 500 examination halls across Lower and Upper Dir, Malakand and Bajaur districts. He said more than 110,000 candidates were appearing in the examination.

Mr Naseem said CCTV cameras had been installed in all examination centres, while inspection committees had been formed to make the exercise cheating-free.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2024