KOHAT, Feb 27 The driver of a college van was killed and four students were kidnapped in Hangu district on Friday.

Two students of Al Asr College were injured in the attack near Moebak Kandao. It was suspected to have been carried out by Taliban. They were sent home after treatment. Another student reached home after escaping from the van.

Abid Hassan, Asif Ali and Said Haleem Shah, all class XI students, and

Shahi Abbas of class VII, were taken by the kidnappers to Orakzai Agency.

Driver Asghar Hussain's body was brought to Kohat for burial.

According to district police chief Sajjad Khan, a large-scale operation launched to recover the students and arrest the kidnappers ended in failure in the evening.

“We have asked the administration of Orakzai Agency to remain vigilant and help locate the missing students,” he said.

The official said helicopters were also being use to trace the kidnappers in mountains and thick jungle.

The Hangu bazaar was closed after the incident because of fear of sectarian clashes.

People in Bangash area of upper Kohat district took to the streets to vent anger over the incident.

The Bangash community threatened to block the highway if the students were not recovered by 10am on Saturday.

The deadline was given to the district administration, after a meeting held at a police station, by the chairman of the Ittehad Bainal Muslimeen group, Mahatabul Hassan, and a former chief justice of Peshawar High Court, Syed Ibne Ali.

The ambush took place at the scene of a firing incident on Ashura day when mourners who wanted to enter Hangu from Kohat amid curfew were targeted by unknown men.

A jirga formed after last year's Muharram clashes in the area is yet to start negotiations. The government has asked the jirga to give its verdict by March 4 for restoring peace.

ARMS SEIZED Police foiled a bid to smuggle weapons from Darra Adam Khel to Balochistan on Friday and arrested a smuggler near the OGDCL camp.A police team stopped a Quetta-bound bus and seized five 30-bore pistols, six 22-bore pistols, three silencers, three 32-bore pistols and 12 chargers. An Afghan refugee, Ali Mohammad, a resident of Badin, Balochistan, was arrested.