March, 24 2005	Thursday	13 Safar 1426

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LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), March 23: Police resorted to baton charge when relatives of about 10 personnel of Khyber Rifles, who had gone missing in Tirah valley, tried to hold a protest demonstration near Jamrud on Tuesday. They were demanding that the authorities took steps for recovering the bodies of the missing soldiers.

They had gone missing when a rescue party of 30 jawans of Khyber Rifles and 64FF unit of Pakistan Army had been hit by an avalanche in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on February 11.

The army rescue teams later retrieved 16 soldiers from their bunkers near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. They also included those soldiers who had been hit by the avalanche.

The search operation was later abandoned by the army due to inclement weather in the area.

The protesting relatives of the missing jawans had been going to Peshawar to hold a demonstration in front of the Governor’s House, but they were stopped by the Peshawar police at the checkpoint near Karkhano market on the border between the tribal area and Peshawar.

They also scuffled with police and Khasadar force which resulted in minor injuries to some of them.

A man was taken to the Hayatabad Medical Complex after he was hit with a baton which left him unconscious.

Commandant of Khyber Rifles, Col Riaz Masud, when asked about the latest situation and the search operation, said that his men were busy locating the missing colleagues, but they had not found any clue to their whereabouts.