October 22, 2001	Monday	Shaba'an 4, 1422

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KOHAT, Oct 21: Large numbers of troops have been deployed along 245km-long Hangu-Parachinar Road up to the Pakistan-Afghan border to the west of Kohat, where several places are being marked as helipads for carrying out emergency relief operations, eye witnesses and military sources told Dawn on Saturday.

The Edhi Foundation has also extended its relief operations to border towns near Parachinar, where only old, women and sick refugees are being allowed to cross into Pakistan by border security forces.

The Edhi Foundation is providing medicines, ambulance service, monetary help and volunteers for the construction of camps for the refugees, who are fleeing their country in the wake of the continuing air strikes and ground offensive launched by the US and its allies.

The eye witnesses said the local residents were extremely terrified with the heavy troop deployments in the vast areas, where every individual travelling between Kohat and Parachinar had to undergo body search and interrogation. They added that the tribesmen, majority of whom had no identity cards, were faced with immense hardships.

The troop concentrations have been witnessed in areas, where pro-Northern Alliance Afghan refugees and the local tribesmen are sandwiched between the Taliban and their allies in the Orakzai Agency.

It may be recalled that the area was declared extremely sensitive after six terrorists had been killed in a bomb explosion two weeks ago in one of the training camps run by the members of the Northern Alliance with the connivance of some influential locals and government officials in the bordering mountains.

A full-fledged new office of inter-services intelligence has also been established for the Kurram Agency alone under the command of a senior military officer for strict check on the activities of various groups.