KOHAT: Butchers went on a strike in the city on Tuesday in protest against the raids by the administration officials at their shops on Monday for selling mutton and beef at exorbitant rates.

The members of the butchers’ association said since they had to buy cattle and goats at high rates they were forced to sell mutton and beef at rates other than those fixed by the administration.

They argued that they could not abide by the official rate as they had to pay Rs20,000 rent for each shop, pay electricity bills and wages to helpers.

The butchers have been selling mutton for Rs1,200 to Rs1,300 per kilogramme against the Rs1,000 fixed by the administration. Similarly, beef sellers are charging Rs600 per kilogramme against the Rs450 per kg official rate.

Police arrest two robbers, recover looted items

The consumers had been complaining to the administration to take action against the profiteers.

ROBBERS HELD: The KDA town police on Tuesday arrested two robbers and recovered millions of rupees worth of items looted from a house of the posh locality last month.

SHO Javed Khan told journalists that house owner Zainul Abideen had lodged a report of the robbery.

During an intelligence-based operation he police arrested Samad Shah and Inayatullah, residents of Ghulam Banda, and recovered all the looted items, including jewellery, cash, bonds, land documents, an LED TV set, a laptop, and other household items from them, SHO Javed said.

Separately, the elders of Ghiljo, the tehsil headquarters of upper Orakzai, have demanded relocation of the branch of a local bank, which was moved to Hangu district during operation against terrorists in 2007.

They said the residents, government servants, students and business community were facing problems in the absence of a bank branch in the area.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Khan Zaman Orakzai, Saleh Din Orakzai, Kabir Khan Orakzai and others said as peace had returned to the area the bank branch should therefore be shifted back to Ghiljo.

FREE MEAL DISTRIBUTION: The Hangu Youth Assembly on Tuesday started distributing Iftar-dinner among the poor and the police personnel.

Syed Adnan, chief minister of the youth assembly, Hangu, in a statement said so far hundreds of food packets had been distributed among the people.

He said the youth were also distributing Iftari-cum-dinner among the poor in Thall tehsil.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2021