PESHAWAR: The Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province government plans to install emergency alert sirens in 29 districts to protect people from possible aerial threats due to recent tensions with India.
The emergency sirens will be placed in areas most at risk to ensure wide coverage. They are meant to give people timely warnings if there is an aerial threat, according to the report.
The Directorate of Civil Defence KP issued a notice telling people to “find shelter immediately if they hear a siren.” They were also told to stay indoors and keep children, women, and the elderly safe during a siren alert.
District officials have been instructed to install the sirens on time and maintain them properly.
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The districts getting sirens are Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mardan, Kohat, Swat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Malakand, Lower Dir, Lower Chitral, Kurram, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Bajaur, Haripur, Mansehra, Upper Dir, Shangla, Buner, Lakki Marwat, Khyber, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Battagram, Tank, and Orakzai.
The report said people should not spread rumors or misuse the sirens. The goal is to protect lives and property during potential conflicts.
It should be noted that, the sirens will be placed in high-risk areas to ensure maximum coverage. Officials said the system will help alert people in real time, allowing them to take safety measures.
Earlier on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that Pakistan will not start any conflict with India but will respond firmly if attacked.
Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Turkiye, and Qatar have called for both Pakistan and India to reduce tensions.
In another news, Following the Supreme Court decision, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finally decided to appoint vice-chancellors (VCs) for 19 public sector universities across the province after a delay of more than two years.
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Private Media Reports suggest that the top candidates from the three-member shortlist panels for each university would be officially notified as VCs within a few days.
After the completion of the VC appointment process, the Higher Education Department (HED) had forwarded the shortlisted names to the previous caretaker government for approval.
Although the caretaker cabinet approved the names for each university, a senior functionary of the caretaker setup withheld the notifications until the formation of the new elected government after the February 8 general elections.
The sources said the present provincial government found it difficult to defend further delays in the appointments and finally decided to proceed with notifying the candidates recommended by the academic search committee.
At present, 24 public sector universities in the province are operating without regular VCs, as the tenures of five more university heads ended on March 16, 2024.
