Crackdown: Shops selling hate material raided
In Quetta alone 40 shopkeepers were detained for interrogation by the police. PHOTO: INP
More than 100 people, including 40 shopkeepers, were rounded up on Saturday as law enforcement agencies launched a crackdown on the sale of hate literature and material promoting militancy and sectarianism in Balochistan.
In Quetta alone 40 shopkeepers were detained for interrogation by the police.
“The campaign against hate materials is part of a national policy formed against terrorism in the aftermath of the Army Public School tragedy,” Capital City Police Officer Quetta, Abdul Razzaq Cheema told reporters.
A law against hate crime already exists and those found guilty will be dealt with accordingly, he said.
The raids were carried out by policemen and personnel of the FC, Levies and intelligence agencies. “At least 49 computer hard desks, CPUs, five USBs, five audio castes, 46 booklets, were confiscated from 20 shops in Kuchlak, which is home to thousands of Afghan families,” he said.
Levies carried out a raid in Naushki district and arrested 12 shopkeepers after seizing hate material and CDs.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.