LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Nov 20: Zakhakhel tribesmen in the Bazaar area of Landi Kotal tehsil have forced the army authorities to stop construction of a helipad near the Jarhobi camp, official sources said here.

Officials of the Landi Kotal political administration have held a number of meetings with tribal elders over the past six weeks in their bid to persuade them to allow the construction of the helipad. But their efforts are reported to have failed.

The sources said that tribal elder Malik Nadar Shah was demanding more development projects in return for allowing the construction of the helipad, another elder Malik Mardan was not prepared to accept the helipad at all.

A final decision was expected to be taken on Nov 25 when the authorities will be holding a final jirga with local elders, the sources said.

The army wanted to construct the helipad in Jarhobi as the area is frequently visited by senior military officials. The establishment of Jarhobi camp some three years back was the first of its kind in the remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency after the deployment of army along the Pakistan-Afghan border as part of the government policy to prevent infiltration of potential terrorists from across the border.