QUETTA, July 18: Police arrested another 100 suspect Taliban during raids in different areas of the provincial capital on Tuesday. The raids are part of police’s campaign against illegal immigrants and so far over 200 Afghans have been arrested from Quetta.
Inspector General Police Chowdhry Mohammad Yaqub told Dawn that most of the arrested Afghans were Taliban or had links with them.
“We have booked them under the Foreigners Act and would produce them before courts of law,” he said, adding that the suspects would be handed over to the Afghan government after completing legal formalities.
Police raided various areas on the basis of information provided by intelligence agencies about presence of suspect Taliban, sources said, adding that similar campaigns would soon be launched in other areas, including Chaman, Loralai, Zhob, Dalbandin and Pishin. They said 109 suspect Taliban were rounded up on Tuesday from Quetta.
“They are fighter Taliban and not Afghan refugees,” DIG Quetta range Salman Syed said, adding that the arrested Afghans also included some Taliban leaders. He said police had not arrested Afghan refugees or Afghan students of religious seminaries.
Meanwhile, police are interrogating Mullah Hamdullah Achakzai who was arrested from Nawa Killi area.
