Briefly detained: Seminary students released

Students belonging to Gilgit, Kohistan, Battagram were arrested on suspicion of having links with banned outfits.

ABBOTABAD: Some 30 seminary students who were picked up by police early Monday have been released, police said on Tuesday. A senior police source confirmed that the 30 students belonging to Gilgit, Kohistan and Battagram were taken into custody after an intelligence report mentioned they had links with some banned outfits. According to Maulana Habibur Rehman, who heads Siddiquia Madrassa in Mian De Seri village, a heavy contingent of police raided the seminary early on Monday and forcibly took away the students. Local clerics and seminary students had staged protests outside the office of the district coordination officer, demanding release of the detained students. According to a senior police officer, the students were taken to a police station for investigation on the suspicion of having links with some banned outfits but were later released after clearance by intelligence agencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2012.