Share this story!            

Prominent leaders elude arrest as offices raided and sealed

* At least 200 arrested g Security enhanced to avert militant backlash

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Law-enforcement agencies were on high alert to counter any militant backlash on Sunday after launching a nationwide crackdown on three militant outfits the previous night to stop them from resuming their activities under new names.

Though offices of the Tehrik-e-Islami Pakistan (TIP), Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan (MIP), and Khuddam-ul-Islam (KI) were sealed across the country, no prominent leader of the three banned organisations was arrested.

Rawalpindi: Police in Rawalpindi and Islamabad raided and sealed 24 offices of the three outfits and confiscated their record and printed material. Rawalpindi District Police Officer (DPO) Syed Marwat Ali Shah told journalists that policemen were deployed at the sealed offices and the police was looking for the people running those offices and involved in unlawful activities. He said 16 offices of the outlawed outfits were sealed in the urban parts of the city while several raiding parties had been formed to seal militant organisations’ offices in the district’s remote areas. Mr Shah said seven offices of the TIP, six of the MIP and three offices of the KI were sealed. He said the police would ensure that nobody flouts the ban on carrying weapons.

The DPO said Golra Police wanted TIP President Allama Sajid Naqvi in connection with Maulana Azam Tariq’s murder and the police requested the assistance of the Rawalpindi police on Mr Naqvi’s arrest. Rawalpindi police raided the residences of active members of the banned outfits after Taravih prayers and arrested 15 people.

Multan: At least 17 offices of the MIP, 13 of the TIP and four offices of the KI were sealed in southern Punjab on Saturday night as part of the same crackdown.

However, police failed to arrest KI chief Maulana Masood Azhar and MIP provincial chief Khadim Hussain Dhillon and MIP leader Maulana Ahmad Ludhiyanvi. Mr Azhar was not in Bahawalpur when the police raided the KI headquarters. Mr Dhillon has left for Saudi Arabia to perform Umra.

Peshawar: The law-enforcement agencies also cracked down on the outfits throughout the NWFP. The MIP, TIP, and KI offices in the districts of Peshawar, Abbottabad, Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Haripur, Charsadda and Dir were raided and sealed on Saturday night. The police seized documents from the offices, however no arrests had been reported when this report was filed. In Peshawar, law enforcement agencies raided and sealed the KI office at Nothia.

Sukkur: Police sealed at least 20 offices of the defunct Millat-e-Islami, Islami Tehrik and Khuddam-e-Islam on Sunday, in Sukkur, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Ghotki and Naushahro Feroze.

Earlier Sunday and on Saturday, Sukkur had police conducted raids at the offices and houses of the defunct parties’ leaders, but no arrests are said to have been made because the leaders and workers had gone underground. Some literature was seized. According to police sources, offices established in mosques and imambargahs were not raided because of Ramazan.

Agencies add: Dozens of offices of the three organisations were sealed in Sialkot, Daska, Mundeyki, Goraya, Bhopalwala, Sambrial, Uggoki, Pasrur, Chawinda, Badiana, Shakargarh, Zafarwal, Baddomalhi, Narowal and during the crackdown.

PPI quoted sources as saying that several activists of the outlawed organisations were arrested. Meanwhile, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa Pakistan has closed down its camps in Sialkot and Narowal districts opened to collect zakat for the heirs of deceased militants. Workers of the banned outfits have gone into hiding fearing arrest, Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP.

“They (militants) are on the run fearing arrests, but some of them can retaliate and we are alert for any such situation,” Jamil said. “So far there is no order to arrest them unless they try to resume their activities.” Karachi police sealed 15 offices of the three organisations and put Jamaat-ud-Dawa on a watch list under the Anti Terrorist Act, Jamil said. Offices of the three organisations were also shut down in Nawab Shah, Larkana and Naushehro Feroz districts.

NNI reported the arrest of more than 200 activists of the three outfits on Sunday.

Home | Main

Share this story!