SWAT | Pakistan

Harsh winter stares at flood-hit Buner, Swat

16 of a family perish in Swat crash

At least 15 people were killed — all from the same family — when a Punjab-bound truck overturned in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district early morning on Thursday, according to a Rescue 1122 official. Malakand Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Shafiqa Gul said in a statement, “At least 15 members of the same family were killed and eight others sustained injuries when a truck overturned near tunnel No. 3 of the Swat Motorway on Thursday morning.” The dead and injured include men, women and children, she said. “The family was from the Gabral area of the Bahrain tehsil and were travelling to Punjab when the tragic incident occurred,” the statement said. Rescue teams rushed to the site of the incident and carried out relief operations alongside the Motorway police, according to the spokesperson. She further said that the injured had been taken to the District Headquarters Hospital, Batkhela. “Doctors at the hospital confirmed that 15 people had lost their lives,” she said, adding that four of the injured were in critical co...

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD - A Levies constable who was guarding a polio vaccination team was killed in a brazen gun attack in the Arkot area in Matta tehsil of Swat on Tuesday.

A Levies constable deployed for the security of a polio team was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Tuesday, according to the police. The attack comes a day after the government launched a nationwide polio eradication campaign, aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children. A special order was issued for the campaign, with the deployment of 285 police personnel across the country to provide security to the vaccination teams. According to Swat’s District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Umar Khan, the martyred Levies constable was performing his duty along with a polio team comprising two female health workers. “The workers were administering vaccines inside a house while the constable was standing guard outside when he was attacked,” he said. “The assailants fled the scene after the incident.” Khan added that police and law enforcement officials had reached the area and launched an investigation. “The area has been cordoned off, and a search operation i...

A Levies official was martyred when unidentified assailants attacked a polio vaccination team in the remote Anzar Tangay area of Biakan, located in Swat’s Matta tehsil.

Jolts from an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 were felt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral and Swat districts on Tuesday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said. Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region. Today’s quake, measuring a depth of 138 kilometres, originated in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan at 4:36pm, the PMD said in a statement. According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake measured 5.1 and the epicentre was located 9km south-southeast of Afghanistan’s Yangi Qala district. The development comes just days after a 4.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Pattan tehsil of KP’s Lower Kohistan district. Earlier this month, a 3.2-magnitude tremor was felt in parts of Karachi, with its centre 7km northwest of the Malir area. Residents of KP witnessed tremors multiple times ...

SWAT: Residents of Swat on Friday announced that there would be no place for terrorists in the valley, warning that if the provincial government and police failed to expel terrorists present in the border areas of Swat and Dir, they would confront the terrorists on their own. The announcement was made during a large public gathering held by the Swat Qaumi Jirga at Matta Chowk here under the slogan Swat Aman Pasoon (Swat Peace March). Speakers included MNA Dr Amjad Ali, Swat City Mayor Shahid Ali Khan and elders Rahmat Ali Khan, Sher Badar Khan, Bahadar Sher Afghan, Ayoub Asharey, Sher Shah Khan and Mukhtar Yousafzai, Provincial minister Fazal Hakim Khan Yousafzai, PTI MNA Dr Amjad Ali Khan, MPAs Ali Shah Khan, Sultan Rom Khan and Mohammad Naeem Khan, and chairman of the Kabal tehsil council Saeed Khan were also in attendance. Thousands of people from all walks of life showed up, filling the adjoining roads of Matta Chowk. Many participants climbed rooftops to listen to the speeches due to a lack of space. Sco...

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has launched a fast-track registration campaign to support flood-affected communities in Swat and Buner, enabling quick access to identity services and relief programs.

SWAT - Federal Minister Engr Amir Muqam here Tuesday handed over huge consignments of relief goods sent by the Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to the relevant authorities for its distribution among flood victims of Swat.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday sent two separate relief consignments to Swat and Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, aimed at supporting communities hit hard by recent flooding and rain-triggered devastation.

Principal Saeed Ahmad’s swift order on Friday saved nearly 900 students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat minutes before surging waters demolished the school. “It was exactly 9am when I had a last glance at the stream and sensed it was going to burst its banks due to continuing rains,” Ahmad, 59, the school’s principal, told Anadolu. Ahmad ordered an immediate evacuation of nearly 950 enrolled students. Within 15 minutes, the children and teachers had left. Minutes later, torrents of water smashed into the school, washing away half the building, its boundary walls and the playground. “Around 900 students were present on August 15 when the flood struck our village and other adjoining areas,” said Sarwar Khan, a local councillor. “This timely action by the principal saved 900 lives.” The school was one of dozens of educational institutions destroyed in floods that have wreaked havoc across several districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing more than 350 people in the past three days, officials said. Ahmad, who has ser...

Four workers trapped 900 feet underground in a Swat emerald mine were rescued during an operation, Rescue 1122 said on Thursday. On Wednesday evening, a major rescue operation was launched after a section of the emerald mine collapsed, trapping multiple workers underground. According to initial reports by Rescue 1122 Swat, the mine caved in suddenly during extraction activity. “Rescue 1122 medical teams are providing immediate medical assistance to the rescued workers,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi told Dawn.com. “The operation continued for several hours after the mine collapsed, in which more than 40 personnel participated.” The rescue operation was led by District Emergency Officer Swat Rafiullah Marwat, as per Faizi. “The trained personnel and modern equipment of Rescue 1122 made the operation successful,” Faizi said. Meanwhile, the army was also involved in the rescue operation, according to state-run Radio Pakistan. “As soon as the incident was reported, Pakistan Army teams were immediatel...

SWAT: District police officer Mohammad Umar Khan announced on Monday the arrest of key suspects involved in the tragic murder of a minor student at a seminary in the Chaliyar area of Khwazakhela. The main accused, Qari Umar and his son, Ihsanullah, were apprehended following a determined search operation launched by Swat police. The two had been on the run since the incident, which occurred on July 21 and sparked widespread outrage across the region. According to the police, the child was brutally tortured to death at the madressah, allegedly by multiple individuals, including teachers. The disturbing incident led to the immediate arrest of 10 suspects from the site. However, the principal accused managed to flee, prompting an intensive manhunt. DPO Umar said the arrest of Qari Umar and his son was the result of “tireless efforts” by the Swat police. “Justice will be ensured, and all individuals involved in this heinous act will be brought to justice,” he stated. The murder triggered strong public reaction, w...

In a series of intelligence-based operations, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) killed 12 terrorists, including an Afghan national, during separate raids in Swat and Hangu districts on Friday.

Three wanted terrorists and “key operatives” of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during a joint operation of the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the Barikot tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Friday. Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — particularly Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks targeting police stations and posts. In response, the state has also intensified its counterterrorism operations. “Three wanted terrorists have been killed in Barikot in a major win for Swat CTD. Eliminating the enemies of regional peace, the CTD has killed three important operatives of the Fitna al-Khawarij,” KP Police said in a statement today. Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned TTP. Among the terrorists was Ajmal, also known as Waqas, a resident of Malook Abad who was reportedly involved in at least nine terrorism-related cases. He was also involved in the killing of Village Defence Council members an...

The Khwazakhela judicial magistrate on Thursday handed over 11 suspects to police custody on a two-day physical remand in relation to the death of a madressah student in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat. A young student was allegedly beaten to death by his madressah teachers on Monday evening in Swat’s Chaliyar village. He was rushed to the nearest hospital by students and teachers, but doctors declared him dead upon arrival. Police announced the arrest of 11 individuals a day ago, including the administrator of the unregistered seminary, in connection with the brutal killing. The police presented the 11 suspects before the Khwazakhela judicial magistrate today — the administrator of the madressah and another key individual. Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Omar Khan told Dawn.com that the police had formed special teams and a search operation was underway to apprehend the remaining two suspects. “We have some key leads to locate the main suspects and will reach them soon,” he said. Meanwhile, the provincial head ...

Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Omar on Wednesday said that authorities sealed the madressah in Swat, where a student was killed earlier this week, and returned its other students to their parents. A young student was allegedly beaten to death by his madressah teachers on Monday evening in Swat’s Chaliyar village, according to the police. He was rushed to the nearest hospital by students and teachers, but doctors declared him dead upon arrival. Addressing a press conference in his office accompanied by Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Badshah Hazrat Khan, DPO Omar said: “When we came to know of this incident, we also thought to check with the other students studying in the madressah if there was any other case such as this or not. We sent our team to this madressah and when statements were taken from the children, it was found out that some others had been subjected to violence as well.” Omar said police detained all madressah staff upon receiving this information with nine more taken into...

A young student named Farhan tragically lost his life after allegedly being beaten by teachers at an unregistered seminary in the Chilyar area of Khwazakhela tehsil, Swat district, sparking widespread outrage and grief in the local community.

A young student was allegedly beaten to death by his madressah teachers on Monday evening in Swat’s Chaliyar village, according to the police. Swat District Police Spokesperson Moin Fayaz said in a statement that the victim, Farhan, had missed classes for a few days before the incident occurred. Police and eyewitnesses said that three teachers reportedly beat Farhan in front of fellow students. “He had just returned to school after being absent for some days,” said one of Farhan’s classmates, who chose not to be named. “Our teachers started hitting him hard. Later, they dragged him into a side room and kept beating him. I was called in to bring water. He drank a little, then put his head in my lap — and just went silent.” Farhan was rushed to the nearest hospital by students and teachers, but doctors declared him dead upon arrival, according to Fayaz. A first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, has been registered against all three suspects under Sections 302 (premeditated mu...