LEAs put on alert in view of terror threat

Militants are reportedly reorganising under the banner of Da’ish

DG KHAN: Secret agencies have put the police and other law enforcing agencies on alert in view of the possible terrorist attacks in south Punjab at the chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA) and during the local government (LG) elections.

Sources said these attacks are likely to be carried out by terrorists of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who, after operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan Agency, have started to reorganise in the DG Khan and other parts of southern Punjab under the banner of  ultraorthodox Middle Eastern militant group Islamic State (IS), also known by its Arabic acronym of Da’ish.





The wall-chalking and threatening posters in favour of the TTP and Da’ish have been seen in the area for the last three months. An extremist organisation has also threatened to attack Regional Police Office, DPO office, and important public and political personalities.

The schools in tribal areas have also been receiving threatening letters. Dozens of suspects have been arrested and are being interrogated.

The police, however, have failed to arrest the culprits of the last month’s suicide attack on the camp office of a lawmaker of PML-N in Taunsa. The worship place of a minority group, Ahmadiyya Jamaat, was also attacked in Taunsa in August. The group involved in this attack also attacked police mobiles and three of them were killed in an encounter with the police.



It is said Da’ish chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has stayed in the tribal areas and has contacts with important persons of outlawed organisations.The DG Khan shares 25-km-long border with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and tribal areas. It also shares border with Balochistan. But, there are only 430 military police and Levies officials to man the 25 police stations and far flung areas of Koh-e-Suleiman.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Commandant of Border Military Police Shahid Dogar said there is a plan to recruit more than 500 new men.

TRANSLATION BY ARSHAD SHAHEEN

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2015.