November 01, 2008	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 2, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, Oct 31: Highwaymen on Friday allegedly hijacked an Afghanistan-bound trailer, robbed an oil tanker driver, and made an attempt to kidnap a relative of a petrol station owner in three different incidents in Khyber Agency.

According to reports, the first incident took place at Jamrud where masked highwaymen attacked and hijacked a container loaded with supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

The incident is second of its type in just three days after a group of unidentified armed men whisked away three trailers loaded with thousands of flour bags from the main Peshawar-Torkham road on Wednesday.

In a related development, another group of unidentified armed men snatched fifty thousand rupees from the driver of an oil tanker near Michni checkpost in the Landi Kotal tehsil. The robbers made good their escape despite the presence of nearly a dozen khasadar personnel posted at the checkpost.

Also in Landi Kotal, Nekkikhel tribesmen foiled an attempt of abduction of a relative of a patrol station owner. Sources said that Mohammad Nikkikhel was abducted by activists of a militant group from the main road.

Relatives of the abducted man, however, blocked the road near Takia and were able to rescue Mohammad from the captivity of his abductors. The abductors in the meanwhile managed to escape while firing in the air.

Their vehicle was seized by the Nikkikhel residents. Local residents then blocked the main Peshawar-Torkham highway for several hours to protest the increasing incidents of kidnapping of tribesmen and hijacking of their vehicles.

The protesting tribesmen demanded stern action against the militant groups and other criminals involved in such cases.

More than a dozen local residents belonging to well-off families have been abducted for ransom by militant groups and organised gangsters during the last one month. Local residents have accused the political administration of Khyber Agency of minting money in facilitating smuggling of wheat to Afghanistan rather than providing security to the residents.