LANI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), March 20: Armed men kidnapped a prominent elder of the Malikdinkhel tribe in Nala area in the Bara tehsil on Tuesday.

Sources said that Malik Duran Gul and his two nephews Naseeb Khan and Sadiq Khan were on their way to Bara bazaar when their vehicle was intercepted by unidentified armed men who kidnapped Mr Gul.

The area where the incident occurred is considered to be a stronghold of Lashkar-i-Islam. So far no group has claimed the responsibility.

Meanwhile, local authorities enhanced patrolling in the area and imposed a ban on vehicles with tinted glasses in Bara bazaar.

The administration also removed illegal checkpoints set up by Lashkar-i-Islam on Shalobar road.

The kidnapped elder was a member of the Agency Council and had been a member of the government-sponsored jirga which brokered a peace deal with militants in Waziristan.

Mr Gul was active in negotiating a peace deal between Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansaar-ul-Islam during the last three months. Ansaar men had condemned his abduction and demanded his immediate recovery.