KOHAT: The Shakardarra police arrested three proclaimed offenders and their facilitators during an operation carried out along the border with Punjab province here on Tuesday.

SHO Azal Awan said that during the five-hour long search and strike operation in Nandarka and Spin Kallay, 44 suspects were also arrested and huge cache of weapons was also seized.

In the operation, three proclaimed offenders wanted in murder cases and their three facilitators were also arrested and four kilograms of hashish was also recovered.

He said that the seizure included three Kalashnikovs, four rifles, one Kalakov, three shotguns, four pistols and hundreds of chargers.

Police registered cases against several suspects and owners of illegal weapons.

Meanwhile, the district administration vacated a piece of land measuring nearly 20,000 kanals from illegal occupants and the forest department launched a drive to plant tree over it.

Additional Assistant Commissioner Abbas Afridi accompanied by the forest department officials visited Kata Kanri and Lokhar areas and vacated 19,904 kanals from illegal occupants.

The 28,900 kanals of land was bought by the then deputy commissioner from Nawab of Teri for Rs210,736 in 1963. But as it remained unattended, people started occupying it.

Mr Afridi said that the administration would vacate the rest of the 8,996 kanals of land from the residents and hand it over to forest department soon.

“The forest department has started plantation campaign on it during the last two weeks to convert it into profitable jungle,” said an official statement.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018