DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Police on Wednesday claimed to have foiled an attempt to smuggle a large consignment of arms and ammunition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Balochistan, arrested a suspect and seized weapons concealed in a double-cabin pickup.

According to the district police officer (DPO), Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada, the operation was carried out by the suburban circle police following intelligence reports about the presence of a heavy cache of arms hidden in a vehicle.

Acting on the tip-off, police set up a checkpoint on the Dera–Bannu Road and intercepted a silver-coloured double-cabin pickup bearing registration number RE-314, which was travelling from Peshawar towards Dera Ismail Khan.

During a thorough search of the vehicle, police recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition from its secret compartments. The seized weapons included three submachine guns (SMGs), 39 pistols of 30 bore, five Mauser-type 30 bore pistols, two M4 rifles, four 9mm pistols, 340 SMG magazines and 16,430 rounds of ammunition of various calibres.

The suspect, identified as Hamidullah, son of Khan Faqir, a resident of Mardan district, was taken into custody, while the vehicle along with the recovered arms was seized. Briefing the media at the Ijaz Shaheed Police Lines, the DPO stated that the recovered arms were worth millions of rupees and were being smuggled to Balochistan.

PROTEST: A grand protest was held in Parova on Wednesday against prolonged delays in development projects and the lack of basic civic facilities, with a large number of local residents participating to press for immediate government action.

The protesters highlighted several long-standing issues including delays in the construction of the Indus Highway, closure of the Parova Sports Stadium, shortage of teaching and administrative staff at Proa Degree College, establishment of a women’s degree college and the closure of the Habib Bank Proa branch.

The demonstration was led by local leaders Farooq Parova, Aizaz Baloch and others, while representatives of various political parties at the local level also joined the protest. Participants carried placards and banners demanding restoration of public facilities and early completion of development schemes.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2026