KOHAT: The local administration has decided that it will establish a sasta bazaar at jail plaza here during Ramazan to address public complaints about artificial price hike in the market.

Assistant commissioner, Kohat tehsil, Gul Bano, took the decision after visiting various bazaars on Monday, where she talked to the consumers on the rates of food items, on the directives of deputy commissioner Khalid Ilyas, according to a handout. She selected the place for the Ramazan bazaar.

The assistant commissioner also ordered registration of cases against 18 shopkeepers for encroachments. She also fined three butchers for selling meat on higher rates than fixed by the price review committee.

Meanwhile, secretary general of the Markazi bazaar action committee, Abid Khan, said due to absence of monitoring as decided at the price review committee before Ramazan, the prices of edibles were skyrocketing.

He said during the pre-Ramazan meeting, the deputy commissioner had directed the officials to monitor the prices and pay regular visits to the bazaars, but to no avail.

He termed sasta bazaar as economic murder of the shopkeepers who were paying hefty rents for their shops.

SCORES OF SUSPECTS HELD: The Ustarzai police seized weapons and explosives during an operation along the border with Orakzai Agency on Monday.

On the directives of district police officer Abass Majeed Marwat, a team headed by DSP headquarters Sanobar Khan and SHO Qismat Khan conducted operation in Marai, Kachai and Mitha areas, arrested 67 suspects and seized arms from their possession. The operation continued for six hours.

According to a statement, the seizure included four Kalashnikovs, three rifles, two 12-bore repeaters, two shotguns, 13 pistols and thousands of cartridges.

The police also arrested Naseem Gul and Shabab Hussain for possession of explosives and marriage bombs and registered cases against them.

In another action, the officials of Mohammad Riaz Saheed police station held a rickshaw driver, Qasim Khan, and recovered four kilogrammes of hashish from his vehicle. A case was registered against him.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2018