September 04, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 3, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, Sept 3: Political authorities arrested six elders and 40 other men in a crackdown on the Khogakhel tribe and also sealed the property of the tribe here on Wednesday, officials and residents said.

The crackdown was launched under the collective and territorial responsibility clause of the Frontier Crime Regulation after the Khogakhel tribe failed to hand over two controversial clerics, Hazrat Nabi alias Tomache Mulla and Mufti Ejaz.

Later, the tribesmen came out on the road to protest against the action of the political authorities and forcibly closed the customs office and customs clearing agents’ offices in Torkham. They also closed the border for all kinds of traffic.

The tribesmen said the political authorities, instead of arresting common tribesmen, should proceed against the two clerics whose offices were operating openly in the area. The administration should take action against the wanted men and should not tease the common people, they said.

Due to a huge rush of families trying to cross the border on both sides, the Khogakhels opened the border after five hours to enable the people to reach their destinations, but they did not allow customs clearing agents to start work.