ISLAMABAD, 24 September 2006 — In one of the worst road accidents in the country, two passenger buses collided head-on early yesterday killing 13 people and leaving 45 seriously injured.
Police and eyewitnesses said a Lahore-bound bus coming from Peshawar collided head-on with another bus coming from Lahore near a diversion on the highway at Sihala, 12 kilometers from Islamabad Airport. Both the buses were overspeeding. Authorities have put the speed limit at 80 kilometers in Islamabad.
Some of the injured are in critical condition. Drivers of both the buses died in the accident. The highway linking Islamabad to the Grand Trunk Road is a two-way highway but one lane is under repairs after the recent rains.
Two Die in Bomb Blast
Two persons were killed and 20 injured when a bomb exploded in the Punjab town of Dera Ghazi Khan yesterday.
Police sources told Arab News on telephone from Dera Ghazi Khan the bomb was planted on a bicycle at a crowded bus terminus. “Two people including a 12-year-old boy were killed in the explosion,” city police chief Saadullah Khan said. Flying splinters also hit a nearby cattle market, wounding several people, he said. “It is clearly an act of terrorism meant to kill ordinary people and spread panic,” Khan said.
Local police officer Tehsin Ahmed said the bus stand was crowded when the explosion occurred. He said the injured were taken to hospitals in the city and some were in critical condition.
Bicycles are now being used by terrorists to carry out blasts. Bicycles have proved to be a convenient tool for terrorists to carry out attacks. Terrorists using cars and other vehicles are easy to track down due to the number plates while in case of bicycles it is difficult to get to the perpetrators of the blasts.
Journalist’s Brother Kidnapped
Gunmen kidnapped brother of slain journalist from North Waziristan, Hayatullah Khan. Khan was kidnapped and his bullet-riddled body was later found in the tribal region near Wana. Now his brother Bashir has been taken captive by gunmen.
Earlier this week, Maqbool, a journalist from Dera Ismail Khan was gunned down. A number of journalists have been killed and kidnapped in tribal areas recently. Journalists have staged protests and appealed to the governor of the North West Frontier Province, who oversees the tribal region, to provide them protection. A senior journalist went missing in Karachi sometime back. The whereabouts of Saeed Sarbazi from Business Recorder is still unknown. Journalists have boycotted official functions and staged walkouts to register their protests.
