Search operation: 26 arrested in Mattani crackdown

10 proclaimed offenders taken in custody, weapons seized.

PESHAWAR:

Police arrested 26 people, including 10 proclaimed offenders, in a search operation targeting several villages on Thursday.

The operation in the jurisdiction of the Mattani police station was launched around 3am and ended at 9am.

Several houses were raided in Mattani, Zakhel, Adezai and Ghaziabad on the outskirts of the city and five AK-47 rifles along with three TT pistols were recovered during the search. The operation was jointly conducted by security forces and the police.



“Among those arrested are 10 proclaimed offenders who were wanted by the police in several cases,” said an official of the area’s police station. “The remaining 16 are suspicious persons who have been arrested for interrogation purposes. They will be released once they are cleared.”

The official said the police is too busy dealing with the threat of militancy and terrorism to focus on crime in the area. This is why the operation was conducted in cooperation with security forces, he added.

“Militancy has increased; this is evident from attacks on police and security,” said the official, adding this was the reason a ‘clean-up’ operation was launched in Frontier Region Peshawar earlier in the month. The operation was launched after an attack on a Frontier Constabulary check post in Urmar left six officials dead and seven injured.



The policeman maintained joint efforts were needed on the part of law enforcement agencies and security forces to curb militancy in the area.

Utility store robbed

Meanwhile, a utility store was robbed in broad daylight.

Four armed robbers entered the store in Faqirabad area and stole Rs60,000 in cash after holding staffers and customers at gunpoint for half an hour on Thursday afternoon.

“They were riding two bikes and were armed with TT pistols,” said a police official. “Cash and mobile phones were taken before the culprits managed to escape.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2013.