Police crackdown: Operation to begin next week

DPOs, DCs asked to collect information of criminal gangs.

PESHAWAR: Police will launch a targeted operation across the province towards the end of this month, people familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune on Friday.

On the directives of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department and headed by the deputy commissioners and district police officers of the respective areas, an operation will be carried out against target killers, extortionists and kidnappers.

Police have been asked to collect all necessary information about lawbreakers in their jurisdiction within a week’s time. Once the information is gathered, a strategy will be finalised.

Extortions and kidnapping for ransom has turned into a thriving business and many gangs are functioning without much attention from the quarters concerned, sources said, adding the conundrum has created many social problems in the society, among them an increased sense of insecurity.

The decision was thus taken by the home department in a high-level meeting to rid the province of violence and extortion.

Authorities have also been directed to heighten the security of the central and sub-jails in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in order to avoid any more jailbreaks. All jails have been directed to beef-up security of their buildings and enforce a strict ban on the use of mobile phones inside the jails by inmates.

Security has been heightened in the wake of the jailbreak at DI Khan’s Central Prison on July 29.

Even though jammers were installed to suspend network signals inside jails, there were reports of prisoners having access to cell phones. Police have also been directed to monitor movements of foreigners and inform the home department of their activities. A monitoring cell has been established for this purpose.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2013.