Police raids focusing on areas dominated by Pashtuns, Afghans: Rana Sanaullah

Militants from the tribal belt involved in recent Lahore attacks: Punjab law minister

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that police, as part of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, are conducting search operations in areas dominated by Pashtuns and Afghan refugees, BBC Urdu reported on Friday.

In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), the Punjab minister justified the targeted action by saying that men from the tribal regions were involved in the recent terror attacks in Lahore.



Sanaullah added that 11 suspects who were detained following the Lahore’s 2016 Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park suicide attack also belonged to Mohmand Agency.

“They belonged to the tribal areas, which is why we thought of targeting areas where people from Bajaur and Mohmand Agency reside, as well as those localities where illegal Afghan refugees are living,” Sanaullah said.

However, he rejected allegations that the Punjab government was carrying out racial profiling of Pashtuns during the crackdown.

Pakistan Army launched the new military offensive after a series of bomb and suicide attacks rocked the country last month, killing over 100 people.