40 arrested,9 injured and 10 fall unconscious in Landikotal

LANDIKOTAL: At least forty persons have been arrested during ten-hours long curfew and search operation conducted in different mountainous areas of Landikotal subdivision of Khyber Agency, official sources said on Thursday.

The sources said that paramilitary forces conducted search and clearance operation in Nalo Kandawo,Shaftalo areas of Ashkhel and Mukhtarkhel mountains.

Curfew was imposed for around ten hours from 5am to 3pm in most of the areas and Landikotal bazaar was closed during the search operation.People were asked through loudspeakers to remain in homes to avoid any untoward incident.

Around forty persons had been arrested on the basis of suspicious during search operation who were later released after they were declared innocent.

Military officials said that they had information of militants presence in the Ashkhel and Mukhtarkhel mountains areas as they conducted targeted search operation there.
A small cache of arms have also been recovered from the possession of the arrested persons,however, all the arrested persons were later released, the sources said.

Students,patients and family members of the wedding parties were badly suffered of the curfew in Landikotal as they had forced to remain in homes for all the day. It was also learnt that many weddings scheduled on Thursday were postponeded due to the restriction imposed on movement in Landikotal.

Meanwhile, six passengers including two children were injured when a passengers' coach plunged into a deep ditch near Michni check post near Torkham border, sources said. The injured persons were rushed to Agency headquarters hospital in Landikotal.

Three other persons were injured in another incident when their car fill down into a ditch Mukhtarkhel area of Landikotal.

In the other incident ten people including five women and five children fall unconscious when they used poisoned medicines in Pasedkhel area of Landikotal, sources said.  They were rushed to AHQ hospital in Landikotal.