GHALANAI: The Khakh Bazaar in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency was reopened for business activities on Thursday after five days.

The bazaar was closed by security forces on June 4, 2016 after growing incidents of blasts and attacks on pro-government tribal elders and members of peace committees near the market.

The militant groups had also distributed pamphlets in the bazaar, warning tribesmen against cooperating with political administration and securityforces. Officials said that the bazaar was reopened in respect of holy month of Ramazan as people were faced with problems owing to closure ofthe business centre.

They said the decision to reopen the bazaar was taken after a meeting of local administration, shopkeepers and elders of the area. `The shopkeepers and elders were urged to keep vigil on movement of militants and suspected people in the entire area, they said.

Salman Khan, a cloth dealer in the bazaar, told this scribe that his business was badly affected owing to closure of the bazaar.

Raz Mohammad, another shop-keeper, said that commodities like sweets, fruits and vegetables got rotten owing to closure of the bazaar for five days. He said that the bazaar was also closed for 17 days last year owing to which shopkeepers bore huge nnancial losses.

Ajmal Safi, a local tribesman, said that they were facing problems in holy month of Ramazan because they were going to Main Mandi and Shabgadar bazaars to buy daily use commodities.

The tribal people welcomed the reopeningofthe bazaar.

HOUSES DEMOLISHED: The security forces continued demolishing houses of suspected mili-tants in various localities of Haleemzai tehsil on the third consecutive day on Thursday.

Political Naib Tehsildar Mehmood Shah, who was leading the operation, told this scribe that so far they had demolished at least five houses of militants in Durbakhel and Shanikhel areas.

He said that the operation would continue till elimination of militants and their facilitators in the area.

It merits a mention here that security forces and local administration had asked Haleemzai tribesmen to hand over the 22 wanted men to them within a month.