KHYBER: National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) started imparting basic education to prisoners at Bara sub-jail on Tuesday.

Superintendent sub-jail Abdul Haseeb and NCHD deputy director Fazal Wadud said during the inaugural ceremony held inside the prison that 32 inmates were shortlisted for the `adult education project` out of the total 180 prisoners after undergoing an initial screening test.

They said that during the fivemonth course, the selected prisoners would be taught three subjects in order to make them able to read and write.They said the project was started in 2002 in which prisoners between the ages of 11 and 55 were enrolled for the five months mandatory course.

NCHD deputy director Fazal Wadud insisted that education was the basic right of every citizen and it was very important for the inmates to become literate in order to cope with the requirements of modern day life.

Superintendent Abdul Haseeb said his department was also planning to impart technical training including mobile repair, plumbing, solar panels repair, tailoring and other skills to the prisoners in order to make them valuable members of the society and also to enable them to have a decent source of livelihoodafter completion of their prison term.

He said that congestion at the subjail and limited resources were the main problems they were faced with and he was in the process of taking up these issues with the authorities concerned.

JAMRUD FIRING. Police in Jamrud arrested at least eight persons and confiscated their arms after a firing incident between two rival groups.

Police said the two groups had a land dispute and they opened fire on each other after coming face to facenearthe Tedee Bazaar.

The confiscated weapons included automatic rifles, rocket launchers and machine guns along with ammunition.