ATTOCK, Sept 11: The Punjab government has tasked officials of various departments with monitoring the performance of different check posts in curbing smuggling of wheat flour to the NWFP.

Sources said the officials would review the arrangements made by the Attock district administration at Mullah Mansoor, Jarikus, Khushalgarh and Burhan checkpoints.

Attock is located on the Punjab-NWFP border and is connected with Nowshera, Kohat, Haripur and Swabi districts. The sources said the selected officials had been picked up from the Board of Revenue Punjab, Punjab Chief Minster’s Inspection Team and provincial departments.

They will start undertaking surprise visits to the check posts with immediate effect and the checks will continue till September 27. The step has been taken on the directive of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to judge the working of the checkpoints, the sources added.

In case of absence of staff or any other irregularity and misconduct, the officials will take action on the spot.

A police officer of DIG or SSP rank will accompany each official during monitoring of the checkpoints. The district administration has also been asked to assist the officials during the inspection.

Following the directives, the monitoring officials have started inspections and Mohammad Tariq Ayub paid a surprise visit to Mullah Mansoor check post on the G.T. Road on Thursday. The provincial government led by the PML-N is struggling hard to control the smuggling of wheat and flour from Punjab to NWFP particularly through Attock district.

Meanwhile, the Attock monitoring team on Thursday seized 25 bags of wheat flour during the checking of a Peshawar-bound truck at Mullah Mansoor check post. Each bag weighed 85 kilogrammes. Besides, 120 20kg bags of subsidised flour were seized at the same checkpoint from the possession of people, including women and children, who were smuggling the commodity to NWFP by foot.

In such another attempt, the checking staff seized 320 110kg bags wheat during the checking of a Kohat-bound truck near Fatehjang. The confiscated commodity was later handed over to the respective police stations, who registered separate cases against the accused.

Robberies: The city residents are at the mercy of gangs of robbers and street criminals, who have been strolling here without any fear for the last the few months due to police inefficiency, causing a sense of insecurity and harassment among the helpless citizens.

On Thursday also, five robbers looted cash and jewelry from a house of a tubewell operator at People’s Colony. And on Wednesday night, some robbers tried to snatch a car from a man at Darulsalam Colony.

Hafiz Majeed, the tubewell operator, told mediapersons that five armed robbers forced into his and made all the inmates hostage at gunpoint.

After tying their hands, the robbers took away Rs75,000, jewelry and other valuables from the house.

Meanwhile, the city police have not yet found any clue to the robbery incident in which four armed robbers looted Rs300,000 from a local money changer in the broad daylight on the Imambarah Road after injuring him on Sunday.

The residents of the city have expressed concern over the increase in crime rate and blamed it on police’s inefficiency. They say that despite claim of the district administration and police being alert to curb the street crimes, there is no let-up in the robbery incidents.

The residents demanded the chief minister to appoint an efficient police officer to improve the performance of the department and combat the crimes.

TWO INJURED: Two persons -Insaf Zada and Saeed Ahmed - were injured when a speeding truck hit their car near Gondal on main GT Road.