PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakht-unkhwa cabinet was told on Monday that Kohat Central Jail and Lakki Marwat sub-jail had been handed over to Pakistan Army for conversion into detention centres where under-trail terrorists could be interrogated.

Briefing reporters after cabinet meeting, Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that after proper identification and classification of the detainees arrested on terrorism charges and the under-trail prisoners would be shifted to detention centres in Kohat and Lakki Marwat.

“A list of hardcore militants has been handed over to Special Branch,” he said, adding that some 107 prisoners had been shifted from Central Jail Peshawar to other jails of the province. The minister said the provincial government had requested the federal government and the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to obtain permission for installing jammers to block the use of mobile phones at the Central Prison Peshawar.

Mian Iftikhar said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had arrested 6,236 terrorists and some 24,122 proclaimed offenders during last year. He said that some 96 cases of kidnapping for ransom took place last year while 242 kidnapping cases were reported in 2010.

He said the cabinet was informed that 737 officials of police and other law-enforcement agencies were killed last year while fighting against terrorists and other criminals in the province. The figures show that 138 police officials, 148 from Frontier Constabulary (FC), 45 soldiers and 406 civilians were killed in 2011. He said the cabinet was told that 1,430 people, including 256 policemen, 118 from FC and 109 soldier of the Pakistan Army were killed in the fight against militancy.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was told that the provincial police had seized 1,394 kilograms explosives, eight suicide jackets and 45,110 hand grenades, dynamites and detonators in 2011.

The provincial cabinet was also informed that 229 out of 338 kidnapped persons were recovered by the law-enforcement agencies while 72 out of 200 stolen cars were recovered.