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Pakistan: Many feared killed as bus plunges into ravine
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
No fewer than 27 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a speeding passenger bus plunged off a highway into a rocky gorge in western early Wednesday, officials said.
The crash happened as the bus was traveling in Washuk district from Turbat, the second largest city in Balochistan province, to Quetta, the provincial capital.
“The driver was navigating a turn in a mountainous area when the vehicle lost control and fell into a ravine,” the French AFP news agency quoted local government official Ismail Mengal as saying.
Mengal said rescue workers and police responded quickly and provided first aid to the injured passengers. Police took the dead and injured to a hospital, where some of the injured were in critical condition.
In a statement, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti expressed grief at the loss of life and ordered that the injured be given the best possible medical treatment.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued separate statements expressing grief over the deaths.
What caused the crash?
Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the incident. “It could be that the driver fell asleep or was speeding, which led to the accident,” Mengal said.
Meanwhile, the German DPA news agency cited sources as saying it was the extreme heat that caused the bus tires to burst, leading to the fatal accident.
Most of Pakistan has been sweltering in a heat wave for a second week, with temperatures in some cities soaring above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
The heat wave, the first of the summer , was expected to continue for another week.
Poor roads, poorly maintained vehicles and a poor safety record cause scores of accidents each year in Pakistan, killing thousands, according to government statistics.
In May, a killing 20 people. In April, at least and 41 injured in a crash while traveling to a shrine in Balochistan’s Hub district.
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Protests erupted in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Monday morning over the continued killings of indigenous residents by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militants.
The demonstrations, led by Christian leaders including the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Polycarp Lubo, commenced on Monday morning at the Fawvwei Junction community road, causing a heavy gridlock and stranding commuters.
The latest protest comes amid a surge in violent attacks by gunmen in various communities, with over 100 people killed in Bokkos and Bassa LGAS in the past two weeks.
“We are not happy over the continuous attacks and killings by gunmen in our communities. That’s why we have come out again to protest these happenings,” said Gyang Dalyop, one of the protesters.
Another protester, Hannatu Philip, called on the government to intervene before it spirals out of control.
The protesters brandishing placards with different inscriptions were seen marching towards the Rayfield Government House.
The Presidency has said the former Labour Party, LP, presidential running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is no match for President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare was reacting to Datti’s remark that he (Tinubu) would not run for the presidency in 2027.
The former LP running mate insisted that Tinubu’s time is up, adding that everything is there for the president and the ruling All Progressives Party, APC, to see that they lose in 2027.
Dismissing such remark, Dare likened Datti’s comment to the new year predictions of charlatan ‘prophets’ which never come through.
In a statement he signed, Dare said the likes of Peter Obi and Datti would have been president left for the latter’s theories.
According to Dare, Datti has chosen to venture into an unfamiliar terrain.
The statement reads partly: “Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s “illogical logic” was all over the place in his recent interview with a television channel.
“Listening to Yusuf Datti Baba- Ahmed spurn his postulations about the political future of Nigeria and that of the incumbent President is like listening to the new year predictions of charlatan ‘prophets’ which never come through. Yusuf Baba Ahmed and his co-traveller Peter Obi are indeed a “double whammy“ in the Nigerian political space.
“He chose to base his political calculations on President Bola Tinubu not winning a second term given his antecedents and because Nigerians will decide at the polls among other things. He conveniently avoided the substance of performance and capacity.
“Unfortunately, he chose to walk into a lane he was unfamiliar with and chose to confront a politician he is no match for.”
Similarly, the Presidency had also stressed that Tinubu will reveal his plans for a second term at the right time.
It said the APC 2027 presidential campaign billboards had no links to Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
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