PESHAWAR, Sept 5: Six persons were injured when unidentified armed men hurled a hand grenade at a vehicle, carrying Nato goods from Afghanistan to Karachi, at Karkhano Market here on Thursday.

An official said that the vehicle was on its way to Peshawar on Jamrud Road when it was attacked. The vehicle was damaged in the attack, he added.

The injured, including driver of the vehicle, were identified as Lateefullah, Rafiullah, Mohammad Asif, Ajmal Khan, Abdullah and Atif Khan. They were rushed to Khyber Teaching Hospital where doctors said that they were in stable condition.

Heavy contingents of law enforcers reached the spot after the blast and cordoned off the crime scene that also affected the flow of traffic on the busy road.

A source said that police opened firing on the attackers but they escaped towards the tribal region. A case against unidentified persons was registered at Hayatabad police station.

Meanwhile, provincial government has asked the officials concerned to ensure ban on use of cellular phones, SIMs and other illegal items in prisons. In case of any violation the officials concerned would be held responsible, it said.

The directives were issued in a meeting held here on Thursday with Malik Mohammad Qasim, the adviser to chief minister on prisons, in the chair.

Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Inspector General Prisons Zakir Hussain Afridi and other officials also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Qasim asked the participants of the meeting to discourage corruption as government was not ready to accept such people. He said all decisions would be taken on the basis of merit.

He said that all possible steps would be taken for security of the prisons and welfare of the employees.

Mr Afridi said that all the problems of jail officials pertaining to shortage of staff, funds and service structure would be resolved soon.

The home secretary also spoke on the occasion and asked the officials concerned to ensure punctuality and meeting the challenges. He said that all the employees would have to improve performance and avoid negligence on their part.