PESHAWAR:
Officials of the Pakistan Army have been deployed along with police in Masho Khel, Mashogagar, Sheikh Muhammadi and Garhi Mali Khel villages of the provincial capital to ward off any other militant attack.
An official of the Badhaber police station told The Express Tribune on Saturday that the army has been deployed inside police check posts in several areas on the city’s outskirts to maintain law and order under.
He added the security forces actively patrol the roads after nightfall.
“They have asked locals to not leave their houses after 8pm and farmers have also been asked to cut their groves of trees because they provide the perfect hiding place for militants or attackers,” said the official.
He added army troops had also been deployed inside Sheikh Muhammadi Grid Station as well as at a police check post in Mashogagar.
“Around 30 soldiers have been positioned at each check post which is an important development towards stopping the movement of local militants,” he added.
Search operation
Furthermore, as many as 10 people were arrested based on suspicion and shifted to the police station for interrogation on Saturday when the security forces and Badhaber police conducted a door-to-door search operation in Suleman Khel village.
“We have arrested at least 10 people in a search and strike operation and they are being interrogated,” the police official explained.
He further said the police had no doubts that the attack on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane earlier this week was carried out by local militants belonging to Suleman Khel.
On June 24, a PIA flight was shot at by militants while it was landing at the Bacha Khan International Airport. A woman was killed and two others were injured in the assault.
Following the incident, the police with the help of the security forces arrested over 220 people in a joint search operation in Suleman Khel, Masho Khel, Sheikh Muhammadi and adjacent villages. Those arrested were shifted to Government Girls High School, Badhaber for interrogation.
The residents, however, were not happy about a search operation conducted without women police constables. They maintained that this was against local traditions and could provoke people to extend support to militants rather than cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
By Saturday, most of the people arrested in that operation had been released. A local told The Express Tribune, “They have released all the government servants and well as traders but a few suspects are still in custody.
Man kidnapped
Heavily armed militants stormed the house of Musarat Shah in Gulshanabad, Mattani and kidnapped him at gunpoint late Friday night.
They also planted explosives in the house and detonated them before leaving. The structure was razed to the ground as a result of the blast.
According to police, Shah’s brother had been an active member of a local militant outfit, however, Shah was against the affiliation and therefore sent his brother to Saudi Arabia. Since then, the militants had been after Shah, said the police.
“The militants planted three explosive devices in Shah’s house which exploded with a huge sound creating panic in the area,” said police, adding Shah was taken to an unknown location.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2014.
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