Cleansing operation in Quetta’s Pashtoonabad

Personnel of FC, police and other law enforcement agencies search 2,500 houses

QUETTA: The personnel of Frontier Corps (FC), police and other law enforcement agencies have kicked off a joint cleansing operation in Pashtoonabad and its surrounding areas. So far 2,500 houses, out of 3,000, have been cleared, while the remaining 500 are expected to be searched overnight.

This was disclosed by Sector Commander of FC, Brigadier Tasawar Sattar, on Sunday while briefing media-persons about the ongoing operation. He was flanked by Deputy Inspector General Police, Quetta Range Abdul Razzak Cheema.



Brigadier Sattar said that the house-to-house search operation was conducted on intelligence-based information after dividing the area into four parts, adding that 1,068 security personnel, including 277 from police and 791 FC, were taking part in it.

He said that ladies personnel were also included in the search operation in Pashtoonabad, which has a population of 21,000 to 23,000 people.



The brigadier said that political, tribal elders, public representatives and religious leaders of the area were also taken on board before launching the house-to-house search operation to ensure protection of the people and trace out hideouts of terrorists and their organisations.

“The operation was launched in the morning after cordoning off the area and blocking the infrequent entrance into the area,” said DIG Cheema. “There was a need to conduct such an operation in the area since long as security forces had already conducted one in Killi Deeba after the killing of a senior police officer.”



Both the brigadier and the DIG said that when they had launched an operation in the Killi Deeba area, initially the residents resisted but later agreed to cooperate with the security forces.

“Six check posts have been established in Killi Deeba after closing all infrequent entrances,” Cheema said while responding to a question.



He said the operation was conducted in Killi Deeba after the targeted killing of acting SP investigation Muhammad Ilyas along with his family and DIG Telecommunication and Transport Hamid Shakeel Sabir in a suicide attack. “Around 500 houses had been searched in Killi Deeba during the operation,” he said, adding that terrorists could be rooted out with the help and cooperation of the people.