Feature
84 kids among 104 killed in Pakistan school attack
Peshawar: As many as 84 children were among a staggering 104 people killed when heavily armed terrorists launched a brazen attack on an army-run school in Pakistan’s Peshawar city.
The horrifying attack comes amidst political turmoil in the country and just a day after the hostage crisis at a cafe in Australia’s Sydney city.
Around four to five terrorists first set a vehicle on fire and then stormed the Army Public School building located at Warsik Road in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, as per reported.
Television footage showed the school children shocked and in tears. Some of them had blood on their faces. One of the students was carried away on a stretcher while another leaned onto a security personnel who helped him away.
The frightened children recalled the horror.
“It was the fourth period. We were in our classes. They (the terrorists) were carrying guns in their hands,” a young school student told the media.
“Our principal told our teacher that the students have to be evacuated. Suddenly we saw army personnel arriving,” the student said.
The wounded and bloodied were carried away while anxious parents waited for news outside.
Over 500 students and teachers were trapped inside the building, with eyewitnesses saying they saw some of the wounded lying in the corridors.
A school teacher said that around 1,400 to 1,500 students study in the school.
Soon after the terrorists struck, a suicide bomber among them blew himself up outside the school auditorium.
Unconfirmed reports said that the auditorium was packed with students who were taking their exams.
The students were initially under the impression that it was yet another army drill and the horror sank in only after they saw school mates being hit by bullets.
The school teachers apparently tried to shepherd the children to safety. Some were able to flee soon after the attack began at noon, while a few others were taken out to safety by the security personnel who responded promptly.
The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility and called it a revenge attack for the army operations in North Waziristan.
The guerrillas carried out the attack on the school that is normally well guarded and is considered secure.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has confirmed that the children and staff are being evacuated from the building.
Some children said that the terrorists attacked the auditorium where they were appearing for their examinations.
Uday, a lab assistant at the school, said: “I was hiding for one hour. The army came. They (the terrorists) numbered six-seven. They had big rifles.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak have condemned the violent incident and ordered the safe rescue of the children trapped inside the school.
Sharif has directed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to coordinate the rescue operation in Peshawar with security forces to ensure all possible help that needs to be extended to them.
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq has condemned the incident and said that the whole country stood with the families of the deceased, Dawn online reported.
“Attack on innocent children in the name of religion is not acceptable,” Haq tweeted.
All the injured have been shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.
The injured students were writhing in pain. A child who was swathed in bandages was in tears as he narrated the terror attack.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Abbasi has also been directed to ensure all possible assistance to security forces in the rescue operation.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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