A government statement said local people had welcomed the operation [AFP]

An official statement released on Wednesday said that the operation was successful, and that the main bazaar in the town of Bara was under curfew with troops patrolling the area.

The operation is part of an intense campaign to counter the threat of violence in the province reaching Peshawar, the northwest provincial capital.

The operation was launched on Saturday, with the intention of preventing attacks on convoys supplying foreign troops in Afghanistan.

A government official said that those arrested included men from Lashkar-e-Islam, a Pakistan-based tribal group that denies links to the Taliban.

The statement said that local populations have received the operation positively.

'Businessmen disinvesting'

Mohammed Yousef, the owner of a match factory, which employs more than 200 workers and borders the Khyber agency, said that his business had been badly affected.

"A lot of our employees had trouble getting into the factory for work, so we faced worker shortages. It affected our production," he said.

Youssef said that reports of the operation stopped potential international customers from visiting the factory and signing deals.

About 100 college students also protested against the operation on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said.

They believe that the US have encouraged Pakistan to launch the action and want it to be stopped as they think it will cause food shortages.

But the Pakistani government ministers say the operation is needed to install law and order so that investors will come to the region.

Richard Boucher, the US assistant secretary of state, when visiting Islamabad on Wednesday also said that the military action was "very welcome".

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