LAKKI MARWAT/DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A number of traders were arrested and over a dozen shops sealed during crackdowns on profiteering and hoarding in Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan bazaars on Monday.
The Lakki administration sealed a dozen shops and arrested several shopkeepers for profiteering, hoarders.
The campaign was launched on the directives of chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah under the good governance framework of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
Deputy commissioner Hameedullah Khan accompanied by district police officer Nazir Khan and price magistrates paid surprise inspection visits to various bazaars in Naurang, Lakki city and other towns.
The DC checked implementation of the official rate list, hygiene conditions in and around business outlets, and quality of essential commodities. He also checked implementation of official price list by grocery stores, fruit and vegetable sellers and butchers.
He directed the municipal officials to remove temporary encroachments causing hindrance in smooth flow of traffic on urban roads.
The deputy commissioner said price magistrates put profiteers and hoarders behind the bars and sealed their outlets, besides fining violators of the official price list.
He warned that the traders involved in creating artificial price hike would not be spared.
Meanwhile, Dera Ismail Khan assistant commissioner Syed Mohammad Arslan imposed Rs69,000 fine and sealed three shops during a crackdown on profiteering and the sale of substandard food items in various city markets on Monday.
The official visited Saddar Bazaar, Bannu Road and Imamia Gate to check prices of essential commodities and ensure compliance with official rate lists. He also inspected the complaint cell at Imamia Gate, where three public complaints were received and addressed immediately.
Mr Arslan detected several violations, including the sale of expired items, underweight goods, overcharging, failure to display price lists prominently and the use of faulty weighing scales.
He imposed fines totalling Rs69,000, and sealed three shops.
Meanwhile, two persons were injured when a mini-truck and a heavy truck collided on the Dera Darya Khan Bridge, causing the two vehicles to plunge into the River Indus belown, rescue officials said on Sunday night. They said drivers of the vehicles sustained injuries.
Rescue 1122 teams shifted the injured to a nearby hospital.
Efforts were under way to retrieve the vehicles from the river, officials added.
Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2026