Muharram plots: Government loses track of 50 terror suspects
50 found missing in weeklong check of Fourth Schedule suspects.
LAHORE:
Security agencies do not know the whereabouts of 50 members of banned militant groups who are on the government’s watch list of suspected terrorists, according to an intelligence report.
The Fourth Schedule of the Anti Terrorism Act lists all the known members of banned militant organisations and their home addresses.
But in a check conducted between November 1 and November 7, intelligence agents found that at least 50 people in 16 districts were not at their listed home address. Their whereabouts are unknown, according to the intelligence report. It is feared that some suspects may be involved in terrorist atrocities in Muharram.
According to the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), there are 2,120 activists of banned militant groups on the Fourth Schedule who are from Punjab. The province is also home to 2,487 men who were trained for fighting in Afghanistan.
The Home Department and the Inspector General of Punjab Police have issued instructions to all district police chiefs as well as the CTD and Special Branch to keep an eye on the movement of terror suspects on the Fourth Schedule and take preventive security measures. “It is necessary to monitor all terror suspects and ask them to submit surety bonds before Muharram to avert any untoward incident in the Punjab,” read the instructions.
The police were directed to maintain a record of the movement of Fourth Schedule suspects, particularly when they leave the jurisdiction of their local police station or their home town or city. They were also instructed to register cases against the suspects who were not at their listed home addresses.
The missing suspects are Imran Nawaz, Aurangzeb, Qari Zun Noon, Malik Sameer Ahmad, Shahbaz Ali, Abid Ali, Syed T Hussain, Waseem Akhtar, Muhammad Imran, Abdul Salam, Hafiz Muhammad Shafiq and Qari Zahid Mehmood, residents of Sialkot district; Muhammad Din, Arshad Mahmood, Murid Hussain, Muhammad Zameer, Ibrar Shabbir and Muhammad Usman Haider from Chakwal district; Hammaduddin, Samiullah, Muhammad Azam, Liaqat Ali, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aslam from Bahawalnagar; Hafiz Muhammad Sagheer, Kalimullah Haider, Irshad Iqbal, Waseem and Qari Ehsan Shad from Gujrat; Muhammad Ayub, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Shahbaz and Shahid from Rahim Yar Khan; Umar Hayat and Faisal Mehmood from Khushab; Maulana Muhammad Ilyas and Abdur Rehman from Sargodha; Taimoor Butt and Mujeebur Rehman from Rawalpindi; Qari Ehsanul Haq alias Shahnawaz and Naseer Ahmad from Khanewal; Qari Muhammad Qasim and Eshanullah from Gujranwala; Qari Muhammad Shafi and Sheikh Ghulam Habib from Faisalabad; Muhammad Ishtiaq from Mianwali; Bashir Hussain Shah from Bhakkar; Tariq from Multan; Muhammad Ibrahim from Jhelum; and Qari Din Muhammad Saqib from Narowal.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2012.
Security agencies do not know the whereabouts of 50 members of banned militant groups who are on the government’s watch list of suspected terrorists, according to an intelligence report.
The Fourth Schedule of the Anti Terrorism Act lists all the known members of banned militant organisations and their home addresses.
But in a check conducted between November 1 and November 7, intelligence agents found that at least 50 people in 16 districts were not at their listed home address. Their whereabouts are unknown, according to the intelligence report. It is feared that some suspects may be involved in terrorist atrocities in Muharram.
According to the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), there are 2,120 activists of banned militant groups on the Fourth Schedule who are from Punjab. The province is also home to 2,487 men who were trained for fighting in Afghanistan.
The Home Department and the Inspector General of Punjab Police have issued instructions to all district police chiefs as well as the CTD and Special Branch to keep an eye on the movement of terror suspects on the Fourth Schedule and take preventive security measures. “It is necessary to monitor all terror suspects and ask them to submit surety bonds before Muharram to avert any untoward incident in the Punjab,” read the instructions.
The police were directed to maintain a record of the movement of Fourth Schedule suspects, particularly when they leave the jurisdiction of their local police station or their home town or city. They were also instructed to register cases against the suspects who were not at their listed home addresses.
The missing suspects are Imran Nawaz, Aurangzeb, Qari Zun Noon, Malik Sameer Ahmad, Shahbaz Ali, Abid Ali, Syed T Hussain, Waseem Akhtar, Muhammad Imran, Abdul Salam, Hafiz Muhammad Shafiq and Qari Zahid Mehmood, residents of Sialkot district; Muhammad Din, Arshad Mahmood, Murid Hussain, Muhammad Zameer, Ibrar Shabbir and Muhammad Usman Haider from Chakwal district; Hammaduddin, Samiullah, Muhammad Azam, Liaqat Ali, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aslam from Bahawalnagar; Hafiz Muhammad Sagheer, Kalimullah Haider, Irshad Iqbal, Waseem and Qari Ehsan Shad from Gujrat; Muhammad Ayub, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Shahbaz and Shahid from Rahim Yar Khan; Umar Hayat and Faisal Mehmood from Khushab; Maulana Muhammad Ilyas and Abdur Rehman from Sargodha; Taimoor Butt and Mujeebur Rehman from Rawalpindi; Qari Ehsanul Haq alias Shahnawaz and Naseer Ahmad from Khanewal; Qari Muhammad Qasim and Eshanullah from Gujranwala; Qari Muhammad Shafi and Sheikh Ghulam Habib from Faisalabad; Muhammad Ishtiaq from Mianwali; Bashir Hussain Shah from Bhakkar; Tariq from Multan; Muhammad Ibrahim from Jhelum; and Qari Din Muhammad Saqib from Narowal.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2012.