LAHORE: Operations DIG Dr Haider Ashraf said on Wednesday that he had seen no evidence of the presence of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the city.
“Investigation teams are trying to arrest the culprits (behind the wall-chalking),” he said, while talking to reporters.
On Tuesday, policemen in Nawab Town, Chuhng, Hunjarwal and Thokar Niaz Beg areas removed the posters, banners and stickers carrying slogans in support of ISIS, but were unable to say where they came from.
Police had launched a manhunt to track down the elements behind the advertisement campaign after the chief minister took notice of the matter.
Similar wall-chalking had appeared in Khanewal last week.
Some of the stickers near Canal Road were inscribed with “Ummat ko Khilafat Mubarik” (congratulations to the Ummah on the advent of caliphate).
A case was registered by Nawab Town police on Monday night against unidentified people under sections pertaining to spread of religious hatred. The stickers bear the kalma written on a black flag. The logo on some of the pamphlets featured an AK-47 assault rifle and called on youngsters to support the ISIS.
Police said that they had been alerted 10 days ago about the appearance of “Daish zindabad” slogans on city walls.
A senior police official told The Express Tribune that printers in Urdu Bazaar were being questioned.
Another police official working with the Special Branch told The Express Tribune that there was a possibility of involvement of some elements from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
“There has been a similar publicity campaign in KP. These elements apparently brought the advertisement material to the Punjab during the Tableeghi Ijtima at Raiwind,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2014.
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