The Khyber Agency political administration arrested a former Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Landikotal chief here on Wednesday, as a military operation continued in the region to clear the supply route for NATO forces in Afghanistan. The once and future amir...
The arrested former JUI-F official Gul Rehman told Daily Times from the lockups in Landikotal that he had come to meet the tribesmen who were detained during the military operation when he was arrested, "without any charge or warrants". The JUI-F had recently expelled Rehman from the party.
Arrests: The political administration has also issued warrants for the arrest of JUI-F Khyber Agency chief Mufti Ijaz Shinwari, and for some tribesmen and Taliban leaders and asked them to surrender before the administration.
So far around two dozen tribal elders have been apprehended in the operation. They include a six-member jirga that had given a surety bond worth Rs 7 million, saying that two local Taliban leaders -- Hazrat Nabi and Hazrat Ali -- would appear before the administration whenever summoned and would not indulge in any criminal activity. The six jirga members were arrested two days ago when the two Taliban refused to obey summons to appear before the authorities. Detained tribesmen told journalists they had been imprisoned without being charged with any wrongdoing. They said they had not done anything illegal and had been arrested for protesting against load shedding and excesses by the political administration.
Landikotal Assistant Political Agent Azam Khan had recently told Daily Times that the Khyber political agent was fully aware of the military operation and that anyone could be detained or released on his orders.