LAHORE:
Intelligence agency reports have revealed that Afghan-trained boys and returnees from Afghan prisons have surfaced in Punjab and are indulging in terrorist activities, The Express Tribune learnt on Monday.
According to a report by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab, 2,487 militants trained in Afghanistan and 566 returnees from Afghan prisons have been identified.
The Punjab home department has directed the Inspector General of the Punjab police, as well as all senior police officials in the province, to immediately launch a crackdown against the Afghan-returned militants across the province.
The Punjab CTD has also placed the names of 2,120 suspected activists of sectarian or militant organisations on a watch list called the ‘fourth schedule’. Under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, placing terrorism suspects on this list gives police and law enforcement agencies considerable powers to observe such individuals and curtail their movements.
For instance, most of them are closely watched, and the people who meet them are also observed by the police. The people on the list cannot change their address and need police permission to leave the district. They are also frequently required to report to their local police station. If they violate any of these rules, they are liable to be arrested.
After conducting a survey and on the basis of field reports, the CTD further declared that 170 religious seminaries in Punjab were involved in suspected activities. The seminaries themselves were then bifurcated into two levels – category A and category B – depending on the level of threat that the police suspects emanates from them.
Category A, the more severe of the two, is a list that contains the names of 74 seminaries. Most of these seminaries are suspected of actively being involved in promoting extremist ideologies. Category B, the lesser of the two, has 96 seminaries on the list, and is generally considered a lower level of threat. A senior officer of the CTD said that the department’s achievements included the indexation of 42,800 militants /sectarian activists, arrest of 634 sectarian Proclaimed Offenders (POs) in collaboration with the local police, interrogation of 1,618 suspects/terrorists, and so on.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was formally created in 1995, and operates under the CID Manual, 1937. Starting as a small operational unit, it has now developed into a department with regional offices all over Punjab. The department was renamed as Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on July 21, 2010.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2011.
COMMENTS (48)
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@Kashmiri
I am with you.Can you also extend your liberation effort to AZK and the Karakoram strech given away to the Chinese?
That's a good news ... Finally there will be another war fought within border ... hats-off to Taliban
@Steven: I am sure they are a burden to you. So to prevent further problems and ?bitterness, its better all the neighbouring countries sit together and decide where these poor people go? I am not sure what the Indian policy is regarding the Afghan refugees, but personally I donot mind if they make India their home.
@ Kashmiri - frankly we Pakistanis would be thrilled if you stopped making a farce of the Kashmir struggle. No terrorism is justified. Not in Balochistan. Not in Kashmir. Not anywhere.
@ Khan - LeT is a pretty awful organization. If they have caused trouble in India, India has a right to be concerned about them. I'm not sure if you're actually Pashtun or not but let's not forget that Pakistan's actions are much of the reason there are millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Our quest for "strategic depth" and meddling in Afghanistan has massively destabilized the country.
@Kashmiri: "I crack up whenever I read Indian comments." Keep on cracking up, my friend. Soon there shall be two of you. Take it further for every jihadi and imagine, what that could do for the "Kashmiri Azaadi" movement!
@kashmiri, Your attitude results in unmarked graves ..We are helpless to save you. Honest indian citizen.
I crack up whenever I read Indian comments. They present themselves as innocent victims of terror attacks. Here's a suggestion. Stop occupying our land or you'll continue to have a big red bullseye on you terrorizing you wherever you go. End of occupation=End of liberation efforts ...its really that simple.
@R S JOHAR: Any criminal, miscreant, deviate, etc. can do whatever he or she wants in the name of Islam and call it jihad. The term Jihad these days is used to excuse the most uncivilized brutality anyone can think of. When you kill innocent people, its murder. That's the only label that counts.
@Arjun As you said that Afghan refugees in India are staunch defenders of Indian secularism and the Constitution so pl. take the 3 million or so Afghan refugees from Pakistan.You will have some more of these defenders.
@Send Indian puppets to India: I agree with you. We should ship all the Afghani refugees with India since they are mostly Indian agents.Many of them use Pakistan when it suits them and they then go off to Western nations illegaly to apply for asylum on phoney Pakistani documents. In Canada most Afghanis live on state welfare which is like state khayrat since they don't work. What bothers me about these people is that they used Pakistan but they always bad mouth our country. We need to send them all back and seal the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan so they never come back.
@Babloo: You are worried about 11 people who crossed in to India while we are worried about those Millions who are burden on our economy which creates further unemployment .. which is root cause of terrorism .. Hafiz Saeed, if i go by what you guys are saying, recruit these poor guys then who are unemployed due to weak economy of the country ... so why not try to change the environment that create such monsters who can be brain washed due to their illiteracy. Your national interest limited you to think only about Jaish while our problem is much bigger .. You should know that not those 11 but many thousands who according to your government's allegation cross over to Kashmir, were Afghans and fought the Soviets before. And yes Osama was living in Afghanistan .. US came here because they refused to hand over him ... All of his network was in Afghanistan along with his sympathizers tablians.
@Massileaks: Instead of asking R S JOHAR and other Indians to stop coming here, I would suggest you stop visiting this site if it bothers you that much... at least I, as a patriot Pakistani, am very much grateful for them to come and show us mirror time to time ... be grateful to a doctor who is diagnosing your ills for free .. May be you get an idea for the cure if you are wise enough.
@Arjun: Racial Profiling?? Be sure whoever asks to expel them .. that person will not be from Punjab as unfortunately, the power in GoP is held tightly by Punjab and if they start asking these questions they will sure do it ... The people who are demanding this unanimously are from KP(Peshawar etc) and if you may know we speak the same language and our ancestors were from that part of the land too probably but there is a border and they need to respect and recognize it, which they cross every single day without any papers not a few of them but thousands of them .. no wonder all these Taliban who were running government over there are hiding here now ...So its not racial profiling. I am from Peshawar and I know how our city was before they came and how it is from past few decades ,have seen them killing their own governor in our street with indiscriminate firing and running back to their country for shelter .. its a kind of their norm now. India is six seven times bigger than us .. We will be more than happy to host some of them but not ungrateful Millions who we sheltered, gave free education and free healthcare despite being, as you Indians call us, "beggars" but they got sold for peanuts so why not ask them to stop taking advantage of us and go after those peanuts and live happily.
And exactly how many Millions of them are living in India anyways ? As you said "Afghan refugees in India are staunch defenders of Indian secularism and Constitution" How about you one of your Anna Hazare go on another fast till your government take just a few more of them, not many merely a few Millions because as far as I know they brought AK47 and Heroin culture with them over here.
Can you say racial profiling? It's sad how the Pakistanis have turned against their own Muslim brothers from Afghanistan.
Interestingly enough, Afghan refugees in India live peaceful productive lives, face no discrimination and are staunch defenders of Indian secularism and the Constitution.
As far as I know, the most heinous terrorist group in Pak punjab is LeT and its made of non-Afghans. Was Kasav an Afghan ? Were any of his 10 accomplices Afghans ? No. Is Hafeez Sheikh Afghna ? No. Is Jaish-E-Mohammad leaders Afghans ? No. Was Osama hiding with Afghans ? No.
Those supporting Afghan refugees simply have no idea what they are talking about. We have a population of 180 million that needs to be taken care of first. The 5 million Afghans are really a burden. Its time that the useless govt of Afghanistan at least plays its role in faciliating its own citizens. All afghans should go back to their country or move to India where they will be welcomed with more open arms.
@Tribune, for Gods sake stop censoring my comments! I am entitled to my opinion of being against Afghan refugees. If you dont like it that doesnt mean you stop freedom os speech. My last post didnt even have anything offensive; it was blunt and straight forward.
Afghanis love India and India loves Afghanis. Send them all to India.
@ex: Yes, I do understand basic immigration policy and no, I am not interested in, or know about, Indian propaganda. Please research the topic of refugees prior to writing nonsense! My suggestion is for you to read about UNHCR, 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol. The Convention defines the term refugee. Please read but don't expect clear cut answers - we can't always be given complete solutions to our problems. I note (with keen interest) that Pakistan never signed this convention.
@faraz: The issue is not (or shouldn't be) the legality of the Afghans or any other 'refugee' residing in Karachi, Pakistan, Australia, Europe etc. The issue (as I understand it) relates to the conduct of the above-mentioned when taking residence in other countries. If you are suggesting that all Afghan refugees should be forcibly returned to Afghanistan (a country still ravaged by internal conflict) then I, like many others, would question your morality. As for Pakistani's in Europe etc., the vast majority are hard-working and an asset to the countries where they reside. On the other hand, the small minority that cause trouble, cause immense problems for both their host country and their fellow country men and women. Imagine if all Pakistani migrants residing overseas where forcibly returned Pakistan, just for the sins of a few - I know my wife would be less than impressed at being asked to leave Australia and return to North Karachi! In closing, please remember that when Pakistan (or any other country) 'involves' itself in the problems of another country (as night follows day) expect to receive refugees from that country.
@let there be peace: When you people in India stop state terrorism against Kashmir and allow a United Nations resolution to allow people to freely determine their own future- then you can come to a Pakistani site and express your views. Otherwise Indians are the last to speak about terrorism when the state terror in Kashmir continues since 1947 against our people.
Why now and what does "crackdown" really mean? Did the 170 extremist schools or 43,000 militants suddenly materialize out of thin air? Are you going to close the school? Are you going to toss the Mullahs into jail? Are you going to disarm the militants or put them in jail?. . It's one thing to leak something to a newspaper reporter - it's much harder to actually do something - that's the reason meaningful action is long overdue.
@hasan: what are you talking about ??? do you even understand basic immigration policy. what criminals knocking on Pak sar zameen ? its seems you are more interested in indian properganda than talking about facts. Refugees have no right of stay. Palestinian refugees in arab world 3 or 4 generation are still refugees not citizens. Likewise with afghan refugees.As for Pakistanis in Europe they went as economic migrants not as Refugees.
Jihadis or no Jihadis All Afghanis should be sent back to their country by force. They have no business to be in Pakistan.Shortsighted policies of Gen Ziai during so called Jihad e Afghanistan resulted in creating this problem for Pakistan.It was actually Fasaad e Afghanistan.
Sounds like baloney.
You have 170 schools teaching hatred and 43,000 militants --- and your giving them advance notice that your going to do exactly what? Tabulating bad guys and making speeches is one thing -- going in and closing down schools and arresting armed militants is another. I for one am not holding my breath that this "crackdown" is going to amt to anything significant.
Well said Khan!
Might be nice if the article made some attempt at describing why an Afghan jihadis is worse than a Pakistani jihadis - I suspect their victims don't see the distinction.
@hasan
What kind of comparison is this? Pakistanis that migrated abroad weren’t refugees. Afghan refugees should have left 2 decades ago when Soviets left Afghanistan. These refugees are a burden on our collapsing economy. And all kind of smuggling in and out of Pakistan takes place through these Afghans. Who allows such millions of people to roam around in their own land? What kind of banana republic we are.
Cont.. althou i'm against expelling the ones who got nothing to do with anti state activities ....
Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a peaceful charity organization please don't defame it's name.
its interesting how as long as the Pakistani/Pakistan sponsored and trained jihadis are wrecking havoc in Afghanistan or india (kashmir) they are mujahideens and ghazis and innocent freedom fighters. As soon as they come back home and want to turn Pakistan into Islamic paradise suddenly they become terrorists
totally agree that all AFGHANS working against PAKISTAN have no right to stay in this country and MUST be expelled .............
How about opening up govt schools in front of the madrassahs and paying students to attend a normal school instead of a madrassah! Alas... our govt. has no akil and allows these seminaries to continue with thier activities!
@R S JOHAR: Keep your opinions to yourself. You havent sorted issues in india yet to be bothered about pakistan all the time. Go commet on criminal activities of bal thakara or other extremist hindus which are killing christians.
@Mirza: Mark my words. In spite of all the screaming from the roof tops from people like you, we shall not wake up and continue in self denial until becoming a part of Taliban Emirate. We as a nation have embraced a death wish sugar coated with high sounding ideals like anti imperialism and implementation of sharia etc. (How can one argue with that?) SO STOP WASTING TIME AND GIVE UP.
I agree with comments made by Malik about jihad which is taught in the curriculam of schools and colleges in Pakistan. However even those who are waging a war against the state and indulging in killing of innocent people in Pakistan or elsewhere also call themselves as jihadis. Pakistan govt needs to issue a white paper defining legal parameters of jihadism and clarify in its constitution that who would be called as a jihadi so that it can take action against those organisations or individuals who cross the red line.
ET, as a popular daily may I request you to publish an article on the above issue please.
@Malik: Brother, are you living in Pakistan or in outer space ? There is no difference between Jihadi's and Terrorists. If the Terrorists who have killed over 30000 citizens are not Jihadi's please enlighten us who are they. Yes I do agree that Jihad is a spiritual battle to overcome the dark forces and base instincts that often arise in our mind, never was meant to massacre innocent people. And please do not tell us that the Terrorists are Hindus, Christians, RAW, Mossad and CIA - nobody can force anyone to stop telling such lies. The assumption that the Terrorists are all Afghan trained is a red herring to divert attention from the numerous training camps operating today in the country. Indians are enemies, now paint the Afghans as rascals and villains.
@faraz: And the offspring of the refugees, should they also be expelled? According to your logic Pakistani's that have migrated to Europe and are involved in criminal activity should also be expelled and returned to Pakistan. If this was to ever happen Pakistan should expect many hardened criminals to be knocking at the door (of the land of the pure) in the near future.
@faraz 100000% agreed
All Afghan refugees should be expelled from Pakistan no matter what UNHCR has to say. 2 million Afghans living in Pakistan are involved in all sorts of crimes
It is good to hear that something is being done to deal with this menace.
Why should Jihadists be cracked down? Isn't Jihad a good thing to practice?
Jihad, I am always told, is an inner spiritual struggle. So, you are arresting scores of Afghan boys for practicing inner spiritual struggle?
In an Islamic country, to even convey that jihad is a bad thing is mischievous.So, please change the headline to 'Afghan Terrorists' from the present 'Afghan Jihadis'.
I am shocked! Religious fanatic terrorists in Pakistan, especially in Punjab, not possible! All these religious freedom fighters are busy to liberate Afghanistan and have nothing to do with Pakistan, I thought? All the chicken have come home to roost. The seeds we have sowed are bearing fruits! Are we ever going to wake up or continue denying the facts?
Good that these types of people are under scrutiny in the Punjab.