KHYBER: The Frontier Corps North torched confiscated smuggled items worth millions of rupees in Landi Kotal on Tuesday.

FC officials said that these confiscated items which included mobile phones, medicines, fireworks, foreign currency, cigarette, drug pan and some other miscellaneous contraband were seized at Torkhum on different occasions.

The commandant Khyber Rifles, col Saeed Ahmad, along with other security and administration officials were present on the occasion.

All these items were taken into custody prior to the closure of Torkhum border on October 12.

Meanwhile, residents in Jamrud strongly resented the relentless use of explosive material for stone excavation and stone crushing in Sur Kamar hilly area.

They told reporters at Jamrud Press Club on Tuesday that the illegal stone excavation had not only polluted the environment but had also affected the natural beauty of Sur Kamar hilly terrain.

They said that the dust and smoke caused by excessive stone excavation through use of explosives and stone crushing at the illegally installed crushing units were fast spreading chest and throat related diseases among the residents of nearby localities.

They threatened to take the matter in their own hands if the authorities concerned failed to take punitive measures against the stone crushing units till Friday.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2025