PESHAWAR: Twenty-one people were killed and at least 56 injured when a powerful blast occurred near the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office on Nisatta Road in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Tuesday. The attack was claimed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group Jamaatul Ahrar, which was also behind last year’s deadly blast at Wagah Border. Rescue 1122 spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi said officials rushed to the site of the Mardan attack, adding that at least 21 people were killed in the blast. The blast took place at a time whenRead More

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) turned violent when a scuffle broke out between member Maulana Tahir Ashrafi and chairman Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani on Tuesday. Sources at the meeting said participants were discussing the status of Ahmadis under the Constitution when Ashrafi, who is also chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, and Sherani entered into an argument that later turned personal. In a press conference later, Ashrafi said Sherani grabbed him by the collar and tore it. “He tore my collar with his own hands,Read More

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesaab Commission (KPEC) on Tuesday arrested Social Welfare Department Secretary Sahibzada Fazal Amin for misappropriation of funds set aside for the Child Protection and Welfare Commission. The son of KP Food Secretary, Sahibzada Abdur Rashid, while serving as Vice Chairman of the commission, allowed the opening and running of parallel private bank accounts in contravention to financial rules and regulations in place for both grants and donor funds. Fazal Amin is believed to have caused a loss of millions of rupees to the provincial government’s exchequer.Read More

QUETTA: Security forces claim to have killed at least three suspected militants, including a militant commander in Balochistan’s Kech district on Tuesday morning. “Security forces launched a search operation against terrorists in Tump area of Kech district,” said Khan Wasey, a spokesman for the Frontier Corps (FC). “Three terrorists were killed during an exchange of fire with security forces,” Wasey stated. The FC spokesperson added that the terrorists had recently targeted a school in the area with a hand grenade. Weapons and ammunition were also seized by the security forces.Read More

PESHAWAR: At least four suspected militants were killed in military air strikes in the Rajgal areas of Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley close to the Pak-Afghan border on Tueday. “Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets struck hideouts of the militants in Tirah valley,” said a security source.Six other militants were injured in the air strikes, the source added. Khyber Agency and North Waziristan are among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants. The tribal area is off limits to journalists, making it difficultRead More