2 killed in blast in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Peshawar, March 7: At least two persons were killed and eight injured in a blast at a battery shop owned by a member of a peace committee in Pakistan’s northwestern Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday, police said. The blast occurred at a battery shop of Shoaib Khan, a member of a peace committee, at Manjiwala Chowk in Lakki Marwat district. Several people were present in the shop at the time of the incident. Initial reports said that around 10 people, including Khan, sustained serious injuries in the blast and were shifted to a nearby hospital. However, Khan and one more person succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital, authorities said, adding that the condition of two of the injured is critical, while the others are receiving medical treatment. A police official said investigations are underway to determine whether the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) or a quadcopter attack. (PTI)
At least 8 die in Kharkiv as Russian missile hits apartment
Kyiv, March 7: At least eight people, including two children, were killed and 10 others were wounded on Saturday by a Russian missile that hit a five-story residential building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack and called for an international response. He said that Russia struck Ukraine overnight with 29 missiles and 480 drones, targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other central regions and with damage reported in at least seven other locations across the country. According to preliminary data, air defence systems downed 19 missiles and 453 drones, with hits from 9 missiles and 26 strike drones recorded at 22 locations. (AP)
Court sentences 47 leaders, PTI supporters to 10 years imprisonment
Islamabad, March 7: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday sentenced 47 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and supporters to 10 years imprisonment and a PKR 5,00,000 fine each in absentia for vandalism and violence during the May 9, 2023, protest. The countrywide protest was launched by workers and leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following the arrest of former premier and party founder Imran Khan in Islamabad. A group of protesters also tried to storm the General Headquarters, the seat of the army chief, in Rawalpindi, resulting in vandalism of the properties. The case was registered at the RA Bazar Police Station, Rawalpindi, soon after the incident. The PTI supporters were charged with arson, siege, vandalism, attacks on police, and damaging government property, specifically in connection with attacks on the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp, the Army Museum, and Sixth Road Metro Station. The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Rawalpindi judge, Amjad Ali Shah, issued the verdict against the 47 who had already been declared as proclaimed offenders. The court found them guilty and sentenced each of them to 10 years imprisonment, along with a fine of PKR 5,00,000 per convict and the confiscation of their movable and immovable properties. (PTI)
