ISLAMABAD, Jan 18 (DNA): Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday lauded the local hero of Quetta, Suleman Khan, who saved more than 100 lives in the snow-hit areas.

The Prime Minister took to Twitter and lauded the selfless efforts of the young man who took it upon himself to help people stranded in snow, braving harsh weather.

The young man, Suleman Khan from the Kachlak area in Quetta has become a local hero after he saved the people from possible hypothermia and other unforeseen circumstances.

The Prime Minister tweeted: “The whole nation is proud of Suleman Khan who showed great courage and selflessness to help people stranded in the snow.”

The whole nation is proud of Suleman Khan who showed great courage and selflessness to help people stranded in the snow.

On Jan 14, the Quetta-Zhob highway was shut down due to severe snowfall in the Kachlak, Ziarat Cross, Khanozai, and Kan Mehtarzai areas of the Balochistan province.

The deteriorating situation of the area led hundreds of cars stranded on the snowy ways with women, children and elderly passengers. People were left vulbernable in the ravaging weather without enough food and clothes supplies.

Khan, ignoring the blood-curdling cold not only rescued several passengers by driving them to safety in his own car, but in a gesture of kindness that has touched the hearts of many across the nation, also opened his home to them for food and shelter.

The 30-year-old reached the stranded passengers on his Sports Utility Vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and helped the people to safety and comfort of his home without any assistance from the authorities.

The kindness of Khan, however, knew no bounds, as he also helped get fuel, paid out of his own pocket, to people whose cars had broken down on the road in the severe cold, thereby playing a pivotal role in getting them to safety.

One of the people rescued by Khan has said that about the super-human efforts of the kind stranger. “I witnessed Khan rescue more than 100 people out of the snowstorm, including a little girl from a Danish School, who was then safely taken to her area of Khanozai,” said Habib Ullah, a driver who was stuck on the road.

Khan further said that he had been helping people on the National Highway since the last three days. “I also saved a lot of cars, as I tied them to my own car, and dragged them out of the snow,” he added. Khan took the rescued survivors to his home, where he gave them food and provided a place to sleep for the ones who had fallen ill.

In another tragic event, an avalanche has swept through three more villages in the Neelum Valley of Azad Kashmir on Wednesday, while the rescue teams have recovered 14 dead bodies so far.

Mainly cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country in the next 24 hours, with very cold in upper parts and north Balochistan, said the authority in its weekly outlook. Cloudy weather with light rain and snowfall over hills is expected in Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir.

The officials advised people, particularly tourists, to avoid unnecessary travel in snowbound and landslide-prone areas during the prevailing weather conditions.  DNA

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