QUETTA, April 28: The law-enforcement agencies continued to destroy poppy crop on Monday, the twelfth consecutive day of this operation, and were still facing resistance at some localities, official sources said.

The Frontier Corps sources claimed that on Monday another 400 acres of the crop were destroyed in the villages of Gul Muhammad and Naik Muhammad, 9kms north of Gulistan. The area where the crop has up to now been destroyed totals 1,400 acres, the sources added. The operation was launched on April 15.

The sources said that 200 armed men of a tribe took positions atop hills on Monday, and started firing on the militia men with rockets, mortar guns and other weapons.

The militia men retaliated, and ultimately succeeded in driving them away from their positions. The exchange of fire continued from 9am to 4pm.

Barring Ghaibzai tribe, all the other tribes are extending a helping hand in the operation, the sources said.

Some miscreants were taken into custody during the drive. Besides, two Kalashnikovs, three rifles and one 7-MM rifle were also recovered from their possession.

Meanwhile, sources in Balochistan’s home department said the government was determined to eliminate poppy cultivation, and would not stop the operation due to the resistance put up by some outlaws.