MANSEHRA: Religious scholars Kohistan region on Wednesday said they would carry out massive mobilisation efforts against militancy.

“We will help police prevent the entry of militants into our region,” cleric Maulana Abdul Kareem told a meeting at the offices of the district police officer in Pattan, the headquarters of Lower Kohistan district.

Religious scholars from across the region attended the meeting called by DPO Mohammad Umar.

Mr Kareemdad said ulema would mobilise people of Kohistan to ensure that militants don’t enter their areas to harm public life like the March 26 suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver in Bisham.

Chairman of the Ranowali tehsil councilMaulana Fazl Wahab, who was also in attendance,said Kohistanis were united to foil the designs of miscreants on their soil.

“We are ready to extend all sorts of help to the police for the protection of Chinese nationals travelling on the Karakoram Highway,” he said.

Chairman of the Pattan tehsil council Maulana Rehmatullah said residents condemned the suicide attack on the Chinese nationals in Bisham.

The DPO lauded religious scholars for their support against terrorism and hoped that they would continue helping police make Kohistan peaceful.

SEWERS CLEARED: The tehsil municipal administration on Wednesday cleared sewers and nullahs chocked due to garbage dumping in the Lari Adda area here.

Led by tehsil municipal officer Mazhar Muzafar Awan, the TMA’s team de-silted sewers in Lari Adda and Pano Chowk as the Provincial Disaster Management Authority issued fresh weather advisory amid forecast of more rains in the district.

“Lari Adda and Pano Chowk areas were flooded during the recent rains, so we have started a de-silting operation to open chocked nullahs and drains here,” he said.

He said strict action would be taken over garbage dumping in cleared nullahs and drains.

KILLED: A man was killed over an old enmity here on Wednesday.

Police said Mohammad Azhar fired gunshots at Mohammad Ilyas in the Darband area leaving him seriously injured.

He died on the way to the Oghi civil hospital.

The police handed over the body to the family after doctors fulfilled medico-legal formalities. The police registered an FIR and started search for thesuspect.

Meanwhile, a woman and his three children suffered critical injuries when a wall of their house collapsed in the Janglan Nerbir area here on Wednesday.

They’re rushed to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital whose doctors referred them to the Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad, due to critical injuries.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2024