Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Punjab highway remains shut after suicide attack at checkpost

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Islamabad, Feb 25 (IANS) The main highway connecting Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces remained shut on Wednesday after a suicide attack at the Dajil checkpost near the Dera Darya Khan bridge in the Bhakkar district, resulting in commuters and traders facing inconvenience, local media reported.

The attack took place when a suicide bomber detonated explosives close to the checkpost near the bridge linking Dera Ismail Khan with Punjab on Tuesday at around 7 p.m. (local time), Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.

Reportedly, CCTV footage showed the attacker coming towards the checkpost before carrying out the blast.

Two police personnel were killed in the explosion, while four others were injured. All injured personnel were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital for treatment.

After the blast, security was placed on high alert in Dera Ismail Khan and the Bhakkar district. Police shut the road near the Dera Darya Khan bridge and suspended all traffic as a precautionary measure while a search operation was launched in the nearby areas, Dawn reported. Commuters were facing problems due to the closure of the highway between Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On Tuesday, seven individuals, including six police personnel, were killed after unidentified assailants targeted a police vehicle in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local media reported.

A senior police officer said that six police personnel, including the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), an inspector and four constables, were killed after a vehicle carrying two individuals for a court appearance was targeted. The officer mentioned that one of the two individuals was also killed in the attack. The attackers also torched the vehicle following the attack.

On Monday, at least three Federal Constabulary (FC) men were killed when an ambulance carrying injured personnel came under attack in the Badrakhail area of Karak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local media reported, citing regional police authorities.

The personnel were injured in a quadcopter attack on an FC post in the Dargah Shaheedan area on Monday and were being transported to a hospital for treatment when the attack took place, the District Police Officer (DPO) told Pakistan’s leading media outlet, Geo News.

The report mentioned that at least five FC men were injured in the quadcopter attack, while two rescue personnel were also wounded in the ambulance attack. After the attack, police launched a search and rescue operation to find the attackers.

Pakistan has witnessed a rise in terrorist activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the ceasefire deal between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) ended in 2022.

–IANS

akl/sd/

Related Posts

Maha: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana provides relief from rainy day troubles with pucca homes

Latur, 7 April (IANS) The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship schemes, has proven to be a blessing for many poor families in Latur, Maharashtra.

Under this scheme, numerous families have successfully secured pucca homes, bringing them much-needed relief from the hardships of rainy days.

Beneficiaries have expressed their heartfelt gratitude to PM Modi for this transformative initiative.

A local beneficiary woman shared her experience with IANS, saying: “Earlier, my house was very small. I faced a lot of trouble during the rainy season. However, after having the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana benefits, our house has become pucca. I am deeply grateful to PM Modi for this gift.”

Venkat, another beneficiary, also expressed his happiness.

“My house has been made permanent due to the PMAY. Previously, my house was kutcha, but after joining the scheme, I received financial assistance of Rs 2.40 lakh, which helped us build a permanent home. I sincerely thank PM Modi,” he said.

Jayant Dutta shared, “Before benefiting from the PMAY, my house was made of mud. Now, after joining the scheme, I have a pucca house, which has significantly improved my living conditions.”

Umesh Pathak praised the scheme, saying: “With the help of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, my kutcha house has been transformed into a pucca one. We used to face a lot of difficulties during the rainy season, but now our family is very happy to have a secure home.”

Corporator Gopal Dhanure highlighted the scheme’s impact in Latur, saying that many poor families in Latur district have benefited from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

“Kutcha houses have been converted into permanent homes, bringing joy and security to these families. Everyone is grateful to PM Modi for this initiative,” said Corporator Gopal Dhanure.

Launched on June 25, 2015, PMAY is a national programme aimed at providing affordable housing for all, with a target to construct 1.12 crore houses for eligible families in urban areas.

The scheme not only focuses on building houses but also promotes empowerment, with many beneficiaries being women, single mothers, widows, and marginalised communities.

Over 2.67 lakh houses have been approved specifically for women, and 90 houses have been allotted to transgender individuals.

Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) approved the construction of 3.53 lakh more houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0).

This expansion covers ten states and Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

The initiative reflects the government’s continued commitment to providing secure and dignified living spaces for the country’s underprivileged populations.

–IANS

jk/dan

SGPC polls: Akali Dal demands extension for registration of voters

Chandigarh, Jan 23 (IANS) A Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) delegation on Thursday met Gurudwara Elections Chief Commissioner Justice (Retd) S.S. Saron and requested him to extend the process for registration of voters for the Shiromani committee elections to March 31, besides weeding out all bogus votes.

The SAD delegation, led by working President Balwinder Singh Bhundar, former President Sukhbir Badal and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, presented the memorandum to Justice Saron.

Sukhbir Badal informed Justice Saron that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had directed booth-level officers to register votes en mass from voter lists due to which thousands of non-Sikhs had been given the voting right for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak (SGPC) elections.

He said besides this, names of genuine voters were being deleted even as bogus votes were being added as part of the “conspiracy to take over control of the SGPC by hook or by crook”.

Badal urged the Chief Commissioner to issue directions for reviewing all voter lists so that bogus could be deleted.

He also appealed to the Chief Commissioner to extend the time for making new votes, saying several eligible voters had still been left out of the election process.

Badal also gave the example of Himachal Pradesh where the voter list has not been made till now.

Later, while briefing newspersons about the memorandum, Daljit Singh Cheema said SAD stood for registration of genuine voters but it was condemnable that the AAP government was “coming in the way” of this exercise.

He said the situation was such that thousands of non-Sikhs who had not applied to be registered as voters for the elections had been given this right.

He said the delegation had also apprised the Chief Commissioner about the Sikh “rehat maryada” under which it was compulsory to suffix Singh or Kaur with Sikh names. “We have submitted voter lists to the commission in which the names of voters are in contravention to the Sikh rehat maryada,” Cheema said.

SAD working President Bhundar said the delegation had also requested Justice Saron to ensure that rules governing the registration of voters were adhered to.

–IANS

vg/svn

BJP tears into Rahul Gandhi over Trump’s jet remark, calls him ‘Pakistani propaganda campaigner’

New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for demanding a clarification from the government over US President Donald Trump’s ambiguous statement about five jets being shot down during Operation Sindoor.

Dubbing him as the “star campaigner” for Pakistan, the BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of undermining the bravery of the Indian armed forces and amplifying the narrative pushed by Pakistani media.

The criticism followed Gandhi’s reaction to Trump’s remarks made during a private dinner on Friday. US President stated that five jets were shot down amid Operation Sindoor, India’s military retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in April, however, he did not clarify whether the aircraft in question belonged to India or Pakistan.

Rahul Gandhi took to X on Saturday to share the video clip of Trump’s statement and wrote in Hindi, “Modi ji, what is the truth behind the five jets? The country has a right to know.”

The BJP condemned the Congress leader’s post, stating that while opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi ends up questioning the integrity of the country and its armed forces. The party accused him of consistently demoralising the armed forces with such remarks.

Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said, “This is not the first time. It has been the history of Congress and opposition parties to question the bravery and valour of our armed forces. They should remember that this is PM Modi’s India, and he knows how to make decisions and execute them. Hence, if someone thinks that India will be dominated, it is wrong.”

BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh also hit out at Gandhi, saying, “Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress and the INDIA bloc have become star campaigners for the Pakistani army and Pakistani media propaganda. The only aim of the Opposition is to spread misinformation. This is unfortunate.”

Chugh added that by opposing the government’s diplomatic and military moves, the Opposition was beginning to sound like “the tukde-tukde gang” and had started opposing the country itself.

JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha echoed the sentiment and said that Gandhi’s statements repeatedly hurt the morale of the armed forces.

“They should be asked whether they are talking about India’s interests or against India. Whenever they make such statements, it demoralises the country and the army. What happened internationally? His party leaders also went in that delegation and presented their side, and the Indian Army held a press conference to explain everything. How did the Indian Army respond?” Jha asked.

He went on to say, “While opposing PM Modi, he goes on to oppose the nation. He doesn’t know when to speak on what. Even the nation has started to dismiss his statements. That is why Congress party repeatedly gets defeated in every election.”

Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal also criticised Gandhi, saying, “He did the same after Pulwama and the surgical strikes. He doesn’t care for India. When the Galwan Valley clashes happened, he was busy dining with the Chinese ambassador. He also attended the wedding party of the son of George Soros, whose only goal is to destroy the democracy of India. One cannot expect patriotism from Rahul Gandhi.”

–IANS

sd/mr