PESHAWAR, Jan 20: Law-enforcement personnel demolished 100 shacks and kiosks selling contraband goods in the Karkhano Bazaar on Saturday. A big contingent of police and Frontier Constabulary personnel was deployed on the Peshawar-Torkham Road to avert any untoward incident. Armoured Personnel Carriers were also deployed.

During its two-day operation, the police seized a huge quantity of drugs — including charas, opium, liquors, and illicit compact discs. The raiding team demolished some portions of the market, situated on the line separating areas of Peshawar from that of the Khyber Agency.

Even ordinary shops, including those of vegetable and fruit vendors, were not spared. "Why has my shop been demolished? I am only a poor vegetable seller," said Dil Agha, a teenager sitting on the rubble of a stall.

Another teenager, whose poultry shop was destroyed in the operation, complained that despite his repeated requests the police did not stop.

He questioned as to why they were being treated like drug pushers.The Hayatabad police took into custody many drug addicts on Friday who were later set free.An official at the Hayatabad police station told Dawn that they were not sure about the exact quantity of the contraband seized.

The Karkhano Bazaar is a known shopping centre comprising more than 50 commercial markets stretched over an area of about a kilometre. Shoppers from the entire country visit there as it is known as the biggest bazaar of smuggled goods.