Hundreds arrested in combing operations across Punjab

• March 30, 2016

LAHORE: Rangers and intelligence agencies have rounded up 713 suspected persons during search operations in various areas of Punjab during the last 24 hours.

Under the directions of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, Pakistan Army, Rangers and intelligence agencies conducted operations in Faisalabad, Multan and various areas of south Punjab and arrested 713 suspected persons including three facilitators of Gulshan Iqbal Park suicide terrorist attack, 60 foreigners, 117 Afghans and workers of proscribed outfits during the last two days. On a tip-off, Rangers personnel along with intelligence agencies conducted a search operation in Rajgarh and arrested three suspected persons, who were then shifted to undisclosed locations for investigations.

According to sources, the detainees were arrested for facilitating the Lahore attack. The Rangers seized important documents from them. Meanwhile, six workers of proscribed terrorist outfits were apprehended during a search operation in Hassanabdal, 34 suspects were arrested in Rahim Yar Khan and 18 in Kasur. Rangers and intelligence agencies recovered weapons and ammunition from the suspects. Army personnel accompanied by Rangers and intelligence agencies arrested more than 200 suspected persons in Gujranwala, more than 80 in Faisalabad, 250 including 60 foreigners in Sialkot, several alleged terrorists in Mainwali during search operations across Punjab.

The security forces have arrested 117 Afghans and 63 suspected persons whose named are placed in Forth Schedule list. Police arrested 10 suspected persons in Bhakkar. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday asserted that there was no organised terrorist network or no-go area in Punjab. Speaking at a press conference, he said the operation against terrorists launched in the province was a national operation. He said an operation against terrorism was already underway across the province, but now it was being carried out in a more organised way.

The minister said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had talked about capacity-building of intelligence agencies. He said that people should also play their role in providing information about suspects and terrorists’ activities in their surrounding areas. He said there was no hideout of terrorists in Punjab, adding that the provincial government was fully implementing the National Action Plan. Sanaullah said police, Elite Force, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Rangers and Pakistan Army had conducted several joint intelligence-based operations in Punjab since the launch of the operation Zarb-e-Azb.

He said the police had carried out 56 operations in Punjab, whereas the CTD had conducted 16 operations after Gulshan-e-Iqbal park blast. He said the police with the support of intelligence agencies had launched 88 operations in which about 5,221 suspects had been interrogated and 5,005 released after verification and 216 were still under investigation. The minister said that the response time of rescue and police teams was appreciable as they quickly carried out a rescue operation and shifted the injured to various hospitals.