LANDI KOTAL, Jan 22: The political administration of Khyber Agency arrested 47 suspects, including 40 Afghan nationals, in Landi Kotal area on Saturday.

Officials said that most of the arrested Afghans were living in the tribal region without any legal documents.

“Their purpose of living unlawfully in Landi Kotal will be investigated,” they added.

The administration had earlier issued notices to Afghan natinals living in Landi Kotal to vacate their houses and leave the area.

An operation was launched in the first week of this month after the expiry of the deadline. So far 1,200 houses of Afghans in Sadokhel, Torkhum and Railway Station areas have been demolished. JIRGA:

The elders of Loe Shalman and Kam Shalman have said that they will be unable to stop militants from entering their area if a military operation is launched in Mohmand Agency.

The political authorities called a jirga of Shalman elders in Landi Kotal on Saturday and asked them to assist the administration in maintenance of law and order in the area and prevent militants from entering into any part of Shalman.

The jirga was convened in the wake of any possible military operation in parts of Mohmand Agency, bordering Shalman, in the near future.

The local authorities apprehended that militants from Mohmand might sneak into Shalman and take shelter with local residents.

The Shalman elders conveyed their inability to the political administration and made it clear to them that they were not in a position to forcibly stop Taliban and their associates from entering into Shalman.

They reminded the administration that it was the job of security forces to plug all the entry and exit points from Mohmand Agency into Loe and Kam Shalman.

Meanwhile, two abducted electricians returned their homes in Bara. Sources said that the two were kidnapped for ransom from Bara Bazaar few weeks back.

It could not be immediately known as to whether they had paid the ransom money to their captors or had negotiated their free release.