KOHAT: DIG, Kohat region, Tayyab Hafeez Cheema has said that 35 drug traffickers, including 13 sellers of deadly ice, have been arrested during a crackdown in the former tribal areas and settled parts.

Briefing journalists at his office on Monday, he said 225 proclaimed offenders were also arrested during the special campaign, including two outlaws, Jalaluddin and Shaheed Khan from Hangu, who carried head money.

He said the POs were involved in murder, attempted murder, bomb blasts, extortion, and other heinous crimes. He said eight members of land mafia were also captured.

Similarly, he said an awareness campaign had been launched in educational institutions against ice drug.

He said police also seized weapons, including nine mortars, 14 hand grenades, 15 detonators, 33 Kalashnikovs, two kalakovs, 21 rifles, 83 shotguns, 65 pistols and 15,000 cartridges.

LAND DISPUTE: The people of Taulanj area have asked the district administration to evict five local maliks from their 3,000 kanals of collective land, which they had occupied illegally after oil and gas reserves were discovered there.

They also formed a committee to take up the matter with the assistant commissioner.

While talking to Dawn, the committee members, Sabir Khan, Ghulam Hassan, Gul Mast Khan and Mufti Jannat Mir accused a foreign oil and gas exploration company of paying Rs8 million to the five maliks and denying payments to thousands of people of the area to save billions of rupees.

They also complained that the five maliks also did not allow the people to collect water from a pond and wood and stones from the mountains.

WORK STARTS ON HOSPITAL: The construction work on the new women and children hospital has started with a cost of Rs1.6 billion.

Executive engineer of the communication and works department, Hamraz Khattak and contractor Ghulam Habib, while briefing adviser to the chief minister on science and technology, MPA Ziaullha Bangash, on Monday said completion period of the hospital was 36 months.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Khattak said demolition of the old blocks would start on Feb 11 and that a mixer plant had been moved to the site.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2020