BAJAUR: A police official narrowly escaped a bomb blast in Khar tehsil here on Sunday, the police and residents said.

They said the incident occurred in Zoor Bandar area in the jurisdiction of the Lowi Sam police station at around 3pm. The bomb planted along a pathway went off when a policeman, Gohar Khan, was on his way home on a motorcycle, the police and family sources told Dawn.

However, they said the 36-year-old remained unhurt in the explosion, said to be carried out through a remote control.

The police and family sources believed the attack might be an act of terrorism. They said Gohar`s father, Gul Shah Ali Khan, was also killed in a bomb attack some years ago.

District police officer Waqas Rafique said an investigation was under way to determine the motive and those responsible for the explosion.

LAID TO REST: A large number of people attended the funeral prayers of a religious figure, Maulana Abdur Raheem, who died here on Sunday.

According to family sources, the 91-year-old, who had been imparting education to seminary stu-dents for last 55 years, died at a Peshawar hospital where he was admitted some weeks ago.

The funeral prayers of Maulana Raheem were attended by thousands of people from different walks of life, including his pupils from across the province, students and teachers of seminars in his native Tang Khata area.

C H E Q U E S DISTRIBUTED: The provincial government distributed Rs11.360 million cheques to 1,136 differently-abled persons in Bajaur tribal district during a ceremony held at the deputy commissioner`s compound in Civil Colony, Khar, on Saturday.

MPAs Dr Hamidur Rehman and Anwarzeb Khan, deputy commissioner Shahid Ali Khan, and officials of the social welfare department were also in attendance.

An amount of Rs10,000 was given to each individual.

Addressing the ceremony, the lawmakers and deputy commissioner Shahid Ali thanked the provincial government for providing financial assistance to physically-challenged persons.

They said a total of 1,224 persons had applied for the financial assistance scheme of the provincial government. However, they said 1,136 were selected for the stipend.