Briefs...

Bahria Town gives Rs100,000 toeach Peshawar storm victim
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: Members of the relief mission of Bahria Town enquired after the health of those injured in the Peshawar rainstorm and distributed cheques for Rs100,000 among each of them here at Lady Reading Hospital on Wednesday.Brigadier (R) Tahir Butt leads the Bahria Town relief mission. Chairman of Bahria Town Malik Riaz Hussain had offered immediate assistance for the victims of Peshawar rainstorm. A relief mission was also sent there on emergency basis with relief goods.

Four hurt in Landikotal grenade blast
By our correspondent
LANDIKOTAL: Four persons were injured in a hand-grenade explosion at an arms shop in the Landikotal bazaar on Wednesday, local sources said.The sources said four persons were present in the shop when all of a sudden a blast took place. Four persons, identified as Niaz Wali, Fazal Karim and two brothers Jawad and Akhtarullah, were wounded in the blast. The injured were taken to the agency headquarters hospital in Landikotal where from one Jawad was referred to a hospital in Peshawar due to his critical condition. The arms market comprising more than 100 shops was sealed after the blast.

Official held for taking bribe
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: The Anti Corruption Department on Wednesday arrested personal secretary of the Transport Department for allegedly taking bribe from some people to recruit them in the Ministry of Education.One Iqbal Khan, personal secretary in the Transport Department, was nabbed by the Anti-Corruption Department on Wednesday after some locals submitted an application that he collected Rs 2.8 million from them for recruiting them.

Woman arrested for selling minor for Rs20,000
By our correspondent
LAHORE: The Sabzazar police arrested the maternal aunt of a minor maid, who was subjected to torture by a couple, for selling her against Rs20,000 after the death of her parents. The victim Rameeza is admitted to the Jinnah Hospital while the police are grilling her aunt Saleema Bibi. Police had recovered the victim from a house in cooperation with the Child Protection Bureau on Tuesday. The victim told the reporters that the landlord kept her busy in doing chores the whole day and did not let her sleep. She said she was not allowed to go out of the house.

Drug case hearing against Asif Zardari postponed
By our correspondent
LAHORE: A division bench of Lahore High Court on Wednesday postponed till May 7 the hearing of a petition moved by former president Asif Ali Zardari seeking quashing of a drug case against him. The bench comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf deferred the hearing as Zardari’s counsel did not appear in the court because he was busy before the Supreme Court. According to the prosecution, the drugs case against Asif Zardari was made when he was in Karachi jail because of other cases. Qila Gujjar Singh police had registered an FIR 525 against three accused Asif Ali Zardari, Arif Baloch and Shorang Khan on Sept 23, 1998. Zardari was implicated in the case after the confessional statement of accused Arif and Shorang who undertook that Asif Zardari provided drugs to them to smuggle abroad. Asif Zardari had approached the LHC for quashing the case. An additional district and sessions judge acquitted him of the drugs case after accepting his application.

Report says slain militant had filmed himself planting IED
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: The militant who planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in Hayatabad made a video of his act, probably to show it to his seniors, a source told The News. The source added that when the IED didn’t go off to target a vehicle of security force, the militant went close to it to check the explosive but it went off. The suspected teenage militant, said to be a 16-year-old boy from the Khyber Agency, was killed in the blast while a woman schoolteacher passing by was wounded. The source said that a remote-controlled device was also recovered from the militant. “His cellphone was not having any SIM card but only six contact numbers, all from the Khyber Agency,” said the source.

Abid Sher Ali orders repair
of ACs at Lady Reading Hospital
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali visited the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar and inquired after the health of victims of windstorm. He met with all the injured and prayed for their early recovery. The state minister took notice of the out of order air conditioners at the Surgical Ward of the hospital. He directed the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) officials to repair the air conditioners within 24 hours. The Pesco officials started the repair of the faulty air conditioners forthwith.

Case against extortionist registered
By our correspondent
MARDAN: The City Police Station has lodged a report against an alleged militant for demanding Rs4 million extortion from a doctor. Dr Pir Alam Saeed told the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) that he was living at Sheikh Maltoon Town. He said an unidentified man, who posed as a member of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, demanded Rs4 million from him and threatened him with dire consequences if the money was not paid.

Lynching case accused remanded
By our correspondent
LAHORE: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday handed over 47 accused involved in Youhanabad lynching case to police on a 10-day remand. Police produced the accused before the court contending that the accused were identified during the identification parade held at Kot Lakhpat Jail. It was further stated that after the identification parade, the arrest of the accused had been registered.