LANDI KOTAL: Mehsud Scouts commandant Colonel Mohammad Ayub Sabir Sakhera on Tuesday said life in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency was fast returning to normal after the restoration of peace by the successful military operations.

He said this while speaking at the 21st passing out parade of 260 new recruits of Mehsud Scouts at Fort Salop in Bara.

The event was held after almost a decade as Bara remained under the control of militant groups for over six years.

The area also witnessed a number of military operations until early 2015 when the Khyber One operation was formally declared a success prompting the return of thousands of internally displaced families to their respective areas.

The commandant said no major incident of terrorism had occurred in Bara since the end to the Khyber One military operation.

`All that certainly shows that we have completely purged Bara of all militants besides wiping out their hideouts,` he said.

Colonel Sabir said the security forces were still on high alert and were fully capable of confronting any challenge posed by militants.Colonel Sakhera later gave away awards to the successful recruits.

The Honorary Sword of Inspector General Frontier Corps was given away to Kamran Khan of Shawal Scouts, while Zarmat Khan of Mehsud Scouts secured the Commandant Mehsud Scouts stick.

Shafatullah, Jaffar Khan and Mohammad Kamran won medals for the best performance in different categories of their 28 weeks intense military and academic training at Fort Salop in Bara.

Family members of recruits and local schoolchildren witnessed the colorful parade while braving the scorching heat for almost an hour.