KOHAT, July 24: The Kohat regional police arrested 319 outlaws, including several proclaimed offenders, during a search operation conducted in various parts of the division during last 48 hours.

Among the arrested outlaws, 59 suspicious persons were detained from tribal areas of the region for not possessing proper identification documents. There were 22 proclaimed offenders among the detainees who were wanted in murder, attempted murder and kidnapping cases.

The regional media cell of the Kohat police reported that 19 accused were arrested from Hangu, 44 from Kohat and 15 from Karak on Sunday.

The Kohat police carried out operation in Dhoda, Gumbat, Bilitang, Lachi, Jarma, Mitha Khan located on the border with the Orakzai Agency, and Merobat Banda, Ali Kuch, Doaba city and Doaba areas of the Hangu district.

UPLIFT WORKS: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has said efforts are afoot to accelerate the pace of development in Kohat and Karak districts to remove their backwardness.

He was talking to various delegations comprising elders, lawyers, journalists, members of Islahi committees as well as political and social figures of Kohat on Sunday.

Elders requested the governor to help resolve problems of loadshedding, low voltage, replacement of faulty transformers, provision of gas facility, reconstruction and upgradation of roads, generation of economic activities, improvement of educational and healthcare facilities and resolution of certain land disputes in the areas situated along Fata.

Mr Kausar said, availability of gas and oil in Kohat region were a great gift of nature and the government was trying its best to exploit the natural resources to the benefit of the local people.

He added, efforts will also be made to establish natural gas-based power generation plants and set up industries in the area.

The governor said eliminating line losses and consuming less energy was the best solution to address the problem of loadshedding and low voltage for the time being while to cope with the long-term needs, the government was to explore avenues to generate additional power.

Mr Kausar said apart from the efforts to upgrade the DHQ hospital in Kohat to the teaching hospital; initiatives were also underway to rebuild and modernise the Liaquat Memorial Hospital in the district.

He said a proposal to upgrade and improve the road network in Kohat city was also under consideration.