LAKKI MARWAT: Police launched an operation with the help of armed villagers on Sunday in Takhtikhel village bordering the Frontier Region, Lakki Marwat, for recovery of two villagers kidnapped by unknown people on Saturday night.

Official sources said that eight armed men believed to be militants had kidnapped three villagers from Shakh Quli Khan village near Naurang town. They said that one of the kidnapped persons identified as Sifatullah somehow escaped and told the villagers about the incident.

They said that the kidnappers had taken the other two villagers, including Noman and Abdul Mateen, toward the adjacent frontier tribal region.

The sources said that the villagers formed a lashkar (armed force) to chase the kidnappers and ensure release of the abducted persons. The law enforcers also reached the area after the villagers informed them about the incident.

When contacted, District Police Officer Bashar Khan Wazir said that heavy contingent of police backed by elite force commandos, anti-terror squad and armoured personnel carriers and tribesmen were in the border villages to tighten noose around the kidnappers and recover the two villagers.He said that several suspects had been arrested, hoping that the kidnapped villagers would be recovered soon with the help of area people.

TEACHERS MEETING: Office-bearers of local teachers` organisations have threatened to launch agitation against the government`s plan to recruit secondary school teachers on ad hoc basis.

Speaking at a meeting here on Sunday, Yaseen Khan, Maulana Tameezudin, Niamatullah Khan and other teachers said that they would resist the elementary and secondary education department`s move to appoint secondary school teachers on ad hoc basis before completing the process of promoting the in-service teachers to the post of SST.

`If the government is sincere to fill the vacant posts in schools it should put the promotion cases of in-service teachers on its priority list, they said.

They said that under the policy the government should fill 25 per cent of the vacant posts of SSTs through the Public Service Commission.

They regretted that the previous Awami National party government had also recruited thousands of secondary school teachers and subject specialists on ad hoc and contract basis and then regularised them through legislation, thus depriving in-service teachers from promotion.