October 31, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 1, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, Oct 30: Authorities at Torkham on Thursday arrested 25 Afghans who were trying to enter Pakistan without valid travel documents.

The arrested men included mostly Afghan Tajiks and Uzbeks. Officials said that the arrested Afghans were shifted to Landi Kotal for initial investigations.

Officials of the political administration said that after the completion of joint investigation by intelligence agencies, the arrested men would either be shifted to the central prison in Peshawar or deported to Afghanistan.

In a related development officials deported sixteen Afghan nationals at Torkham border. The deported men were arrested by police from different localities in NWFP and were detained in Peshawar jail. The deported men were handed over to the Afghan officials posted at Torkham border.

Meanwhile, sources at Torkham told Dawn that the Khasadar force is involved in human smuggling of Afghan Tajiks and Uzbeks into Pakistan by charging them Rs3,000 per person. Political authorities rejected the allegation.