MARDAN, Feb 10 Police seized two suicide jackets during a raid on the house of a prayer leader in the Jamal Garhi village, 10 kilometres from here, on Wednesday.

Police on a tip-off raided the house of Dr Nasir, prayer leader at a local mosque and owner of a medical store, early Wednesday morning and during search recovered two suicide jackets. However, Dr Nasir managed to escape.

Residents said Dr Nasir belonged to the Gandaf village in Swabi and shifted to Jamal Garhi a few months ago. According to them, he was involved in suspected activities.

In another search operation, police arrested a suspected person and shifted him to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Sources said Jamal Garhi and adjacent areas were a safe haven for militants. Several encounters, they said, had taken place between police and militants.

ILLEGAL EXCAVATION Illegal excavation for artefacts in the Manga village has been continuing for one week and a number of artefacts, including some rare items, have been recovered.

Local people told Dawn some influential people had started digging in the nearby fields where they had recovered statues, pottery and other artefacts, destroying the site. Most of the artefacts are said to be from the Gandhara period.—Correspondent