September 27, 2008	Saturday	Ramazan 26, 1429

ATTOCK, Sept 26: As many as 800 bags of wheat were seized from a container at the Burhan checkpost on Islamabad-Peshawar motorway while being smuggled to NWFP from Punjab, it has been learnt.

A monitoring team with the assistance of the food department and police intercepted a Peshawar-bound container at the checkpost on Thursday morning. However, the driver refused to open the seal saying some sensitive defence equipment were being transported in the vehicle.

In the meanwhile, the checking staff received a phone call and the caller introduced himself as a senior army officer and warned the officials not to break the seal of the container as there were some defence equipment.

The officials claimed that when they insisted on checking the vehicle, the driver offered them a bribe of Rs100,000. Later, they broke the seal open and recovered the 800 bags wheat of 50kg each from the container.

The checking staff also arrested the driver, Naseer Mehmood, and his conductor and handed them over to the police along with the confiscated commodity.

When contacted, the district monitoring officer Shahid Farooq said the wheat consignment was being smuggled from Daska in Sialkot to the NWFP.

Subsidised Roti: The district administration of Attock says it has made arrangements to ensure availability of Roti at Rs2 during and after the holy month of Ramazan on the directive of the chief minister.

District coordination officer Saqib Zafar said provision of Roti at Rs2 had initially been started at five out of the 45 tandoors from Friday.

He said the programme would be introduced at Fatehjhang on Saturday and soon it would be extended to other teshils as well.

The official claimed that the district administration was taking all measures to ensure smooth supply of flour to the markets and tandoors.

MEDICINES LIFTED: A salesman of a pharmaceutical company reported to the Attock city police that he parked his delivery van at Pleader Line and was distributing drugs to the local stores when some outlaws stole medicines worth Rs60,000 from the vehicle.