Curbing terrorism: Police include more people in Schedule 4 list

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police has revised the list of people kept under the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 to maintain peace and curb militancy.

As per the new list, the number of people placed under the schedule has been increased to 5,362.

The list had not been updated for several years. There was a pressing need to update it and make it more comprehensive to ensure stability in the province.

Schedule IV of ATA 1997 deals with people who are not directly involved in terrorism activities, but whose affiliation with banned outfits or their previous criminal record makes them suspicious. They are kept under surveillance by the police to remove the possibility of their involvement in any terrorism activity in future.

As part of the process, the people are required to provide fresh pictures to the local police station every month and inform the law-enforcers before leaving the jurisdiction of their police stations. They are regularly checked and monitored by police and intelligence officials.

The highest number of individuals placed on schedule 4 belonged to a banned outfit, numbering 4,405 across the province. It is followed by Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan with 456 people on the list.

Those repatriated from Afghanistan and former Guantanamo Bay inmates have also been placed in the list. Besides, notorious criminals, who have completed jail sentences, have been included.

When contacted, DIG Fasihuddin told The Express Tribune that during the British Raj and afterwards, there used to be a register for such people at each police station.

He added, “There was a need to revise this list and we have successfully completed it. The number of people [in it] has doubled.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st,  2016.