KOHAT, Dec 11: A man disguised as a member of the Levies and a van driver were arrested and about 1,000kg of explosives were seized from them near a railway crossing here on Saturday.

According to police sources, the two men were carrying the explosives and weapons in a van fitted with a hooter.

Police, which had been on high alert after two suicide bombings in Kohat and Hangu this week, stopped the van at the Bannu gate railway crossing, which is near the offices of an intelligence agency and an airbase.

Police found dozens of cartons full of explosives when they searched the van. Two kalashnikovs and hundreds of cartridges were also found besides the bomb powder.

The men failed to satisfy police because they could not produce the permit for carrying explosives in such a huge quantity through the city.

Officials said one of the men had been identified as Imran, a resident of Sar Dheri area in Charsadda district, and the other one as Akseer Ali from Kalaya, the headquarters of Orakzai Agency.

The suspects were taken to a police investigation cell amid tight security and the vehicle was impounded.

Officials said the 'terrorists' had admitted that they were carrying the explosive material from Nowshera district to Orakzai Agency.

Bomb disposal personnel said the material was highly inflammable and could have been used in making time bombs and suicide jackets.

Kohat DIG Mohammad Masood Afridi said the men arrested along with explosives were terrorists.

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...