MARDAN: Police and other law-enforcement agencies arrested 80 persons, including 18 suspected militants, during a joint search and strike operation on the night between Saturday and Sunday. The action was carried out in the limits of Par Hoti police station.

Relevant officials said that the action started at 3am and continued till morning. A huge cache of arms is also claimed to have been recovered from the hideouts of suspects.

Personnel of the police’s rapid response force and elite force, army, bomb disposal squad, women police and anti-terrorist squad participated in the operation.

Superintendent of Police (operations), Shafiullah Gandapur, was leading the joint operation.

The arrested suspects also included 25 traders for not registering their shops, two Afghan nationals and 29 persons having unlicenced arms.

The police sources said three Kalashnikovs, four Kalakovs, a rifle, three shotguns, 50 pistols, 700 cartridges of different types and 1,000 kilogramme of hashish were recovered from the arrested men.

District Police Officer, Mardan, Faisal Shehzad said that the arrested persons were being further interrogated and those who were found innocent would be freed.

He, however, said that the operation would continue till uprooting of all the terrorist and extremist elements from Mardan district.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2016