A scary aftermath: Five suspects killed in two southern districts

Police take hundreds into custody, release most after questioning


Police take hundreds into custody, release most after questioning PHOTO: REUTERS

DERA GHAZI KHAN/FAISALABAD/BAHAWALPUR:


Two ‘terrorists’ in Rajanpur district and three suspects in Muzaffargarh districts have been killed during search operations conducted by the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch, district police and intelligence agencies on Monday-Tuesday, a statement issued by Regional Police Officer Rehmat Ullah Khan Niazi on Tuesday said.


Niazi said a person in Rajanpur and seven people in Muzaffargarh had been arrested for facilitating terrorists. Police officials said they were interrogating them about their alleged links with terrorist outfits.

He said the law enforcement agencies had arrested 26 terror suspects in Dera Ghazi Khan division. Some of them are accused of aiding and abetting terrorists and others of violating the Rented Premises Act. Among those arrested in Dera Ghazi Khan are suspects identified as Muhammad Jameel, Naeem, Ashraf and Tahir.  In a meeting of heads of various government departments, Dera Ghazi Khan DCO Nadeemur Rehman said special orders had been issued to make strict security arrangements at educational institutes and offices. He said nobody would be allowed to enter those premises without proving their identity. “It’s the little precaution we take that save lives…it is our responsibility to protect citizens.”  More than 100 people from Faisalabad, Chiniot, Jhang and Toba Tek Singh districts were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies and Army officials on Monday-Tuesday for allegedly having ties with banned outfits.  Police officials refused to comment on record about the operation launched in Faisalabad in the aftermath of an attack at the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park in Lahore. However, they said some of the arrested men had been trained at militant camps in North Waziristan and had participated in the Soviet-Afghan jihad in the ’80s. They said 13 of the people taken into custody were suspected of facilitating terrorists and 11 people have accused of aiding and abetting militants in various attacks.  In Rahim Yar Khan district, police held search operations in 15 areas and took 148 people into custody on Monday night. Police said 125 of them had been cleared, eight were out on bail against surety bonds and FIRs had been registered against 15.

Following the attack in Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan DPO Zeeshan Asghar directed the district police to conduct search operations at 15 sensitive locations. The relevant SDPOs and SHOs, members of the Elite Police Force and intelligence agencies were told to accompany the cops during the operation.

Bahawalpur police held search operations in seven sensitive areas and interrogated 150 people. After questioning 133 of them were cleared and released while cases were registered against 17.

In Bahawalnagar, police searched 18 sensitive locations and questioned 40 people. Of those, they registered cases against 15 people.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th,  2016.

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