CHITRAL, June 15: Police have been interrogating four activists of a ‘jihadi’ outfit arrested on Sunday last. Officials said that explosives were also recovered from their possession.

An official said the Chitral Scouts had arrested four persons coming from the neighbouring Upper Dir district.

The official declined to disclose the name of the alleged ‘jihadi’ outfit to which the arrested men belonged.

The men were produced before a civil court judge in Droosh two days back who remanded them in police custody.

Paramilitary forces had apprehended the men from a passenger coach at Mirkhani post. Explosive materials, including 50 detonators, 10kg explosive powder, 13 batteries, 200 meters of electric wire, 35kg white powder, one bundle of electric fuse and jackets and a cash amount of Rs274,000 were recovered from their possessions.

The arrested persons were identified as Habibur Rehman (hailing from Afghanistan), Mohammad Imran (Karachi), Shabbir Ahmed (Azad Kashmir) and Inayat Khan (Malakand).

The arrested men told investigators that they were on way to Afghanistan’s Nooristan province via Arandu and confessed to having received militant training, sources said.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...