July 13, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 9, 1429

PESHAWAR, July 12: Dozens of armed Taliban dismantled protection barriers in front of a police station in Charsadda’s Shabqadar tehsil on Friday and left with a warning that these should not be erected again.

Witnesses said a group of militants armed with heavy weapons had besieged the Saro police station, north of Peshawar and in the vicinity of the Mohmand tribal region, and demolished the safety walls.

However, officials denied that the Taliban had besieged the police station and said the militants had only patrolled the area and returned without giving any warning to police. They said it was a routine patrol of the Taliban in the area.

“About eight to 10 Taliban usually come to the local bazaar for purchasing items of daily use, but for the first time about 40 of them visited the area. They were armed with rocket-launchers, Kalashnikovs and other weapons,” the officials said.There has been a surge in activities of the Taliban in some areas of Peshawar and Charsadda over the past few months.

Taliban militants laid siege to a police station in Hangu on Wednesday after the arrest of seven of their associates.