KHYBER: Several staffers of tehsil municipal administration were injured in a clash with shopkeepers during an anti-encroachment operation in Jamrud Bazaar on Wednesday.

Officials said that shopkeepers and handcart owners resorted to violence and pelted the TMA staffers with stones and also used batons when the latter tried to remove illegal structures from the sides of the main road passing through Jamrud Bazaar.

The vehicles of TMA were also damaged, they said. They added that the operation was suspended temporarily, however, local administration deployed heavy contingent of police and brought the situation under control.

Meanwhile, police in Jamrud demolished three heroin factories and seized a large quantity of contraband during an operation against drugs in Sheen Tang area on Wednesday.

Police said that they seized 32 kilograms of opium along with two kilograms each of heroin and ice while equipments of heroin factory were also seized.

They said that owners and operators of the heroin factories managed to escape prior to launch of raid by police. They said that cases were registered against them.

DPO: Police in Khyber tribal district announced on Wednesday that no penalty would be imposed on empty vehicles coming from Afghanistan.

DPO Mohammad Iqbal said after a meeting with representatives of transporters that all traffic wardens were refrained from imposing fine on the empty vehicles on the main Torkham-Peshawar Highway while coming back from Afghanistan.

The transporters had earlier complained about their harassment by Afghan police across the Torkham border in retaliation to frequent imposition of fine on Afghan drivers by Khyber police on Peshawar-Torkham Highway.

Mr Iqbal said that penalties would be imposed only on the drivers of loaded vehicles if they were found violating traffic rules.

He said that relief would be provided to all transporters taking and bringing trade goods to and from Afghanistan while the traffic police were advised to refrain from harassing truckers from either country.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2021