KOHAT: The police have arrested two proclaimed offenders during a raid on a house in Darra Adamkhel, which remained a haven for outlaws before its merger with the Kohat district.

DSP headquarters and chief of Darra Adamkhel police Sanobar Shah told journalists that a gang of robbers had snatched Rs2.68 million from Levies officials in Kohat in 2014, which they were taking to the erstwhile tribal area for payment of salaries to the paramilitary force officials.

However, he said the police could not arrest them because they fled to Darra where the elders sheltered them.

DSP Sanobar said the POs committed robberies and kidnappings in the past and arranged gambling sessions to generate money for the tribesmen in return for providing them protection from law.

Mr Shah said the operation was carried out on the directives of Kohat DPO Wahid Mehmood, and identified the robbers as Mina Baz of Jammu Shahukhel and Amir Malik of Turki Ismailkhel.

ANTI-INDIA RALLIES: The Kohat mobiles phone markets association and students of Kohat University of Science and Technology took out rallies on Wednesday against Modi government’s revocation of special status of India-held Kashmir.

Allah Noor, president of the association and varsity vice-chancellor Prof Jameel led the procession. The participants walked through Peshawar Chowk up to the Martyrs’ Square, chanting anti-India slogans. They asked the international community to help stop genocide of Kashmiris.

Allah Noor said it was time the UNSC invoked the disputed status of the Kashmir and declare its annexation by India illegal.

Prof Jameel said the whole nation was ready to liberate Kashmir.

ILLEGAL HANDCARTS: The grand businessmen alliance has demanded an inquiry into the presence of over 700 unregistered handcarts owned by Afghan refugees and IDPs, alleging they daily gave bribe to the TMA officials.

Talking to reporters, Tajir action committee president Mohammad Abid said such a large number of handcarts were causing traffic jams in the city.

He said only 48 handcarts were registered with TMA, and the rest were illegal whose owners were charged Rs100 per day. He demanded that the handcart owners should be shifted to the allocated old cattle market site.

MUHARRAM SECURITY: DPO Wahid Mehmood on Wednesday checked preparedness of the force deployed at the imambargahs and reviewed the overall security arrangements after Kohat has been declared the most sensitive district during Muharram.

The DPO visited the Qaumi, Said Habib and Kalu imambargahs and met with the caretakers. He said he had ordered increased patrolling throughout the district and asked the force to be ready for any untoward incident.

He also inspected the designated routes of the mourners’ processions and directed the bomb disposal squad to ensure sweeping of drains daily.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2019