April 08, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1429

PESHAWAR, April 7: The federal government has asked the provincial government here to keep strict vigil on the activities of Afghan refugees after a report that they were involved in acts of sabotage in the province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), a source at the police department said.

“We have received a letter dated April 1st from the federal ministry of interior, wherein the federal government has expressed its reservations about the unhindered movement and activities of the Afghan refugees,” said a senior police officer.

Quoting the letter, he said that it had come into the knowledge of the high-ranking officials of the interior ministry that a group of Afghans based in Peshawar, supplied arms and ammunition and even material for bomb explosions in the province and Fata. The letter was circulated to all the deputy inspectors general of police (DIGs) and district police officers (DPOs), asking them to keep an eye on the activities of Afghan refugees in their respective areas.

“The DIGs and DPOs have also been directed by the government to thoroughly investigate the Afghan refugees involved even in petty crimes,” said the police officer. According to him, they had been instructed by the government to compile a data regarding the Afghan refugees involved in criminal activities.

The interior ministry has said that the group was in possession of huge stock of heavy weapons that could be used for carrying out acts of sabotage. “The group, according to the letter, is paid for carrying out these activities,” he added.

“The government has solid evidence that Afghans were supplying weapons and bombs in the NWFP and Fata to create law and order situation at the behest of their masters,” the police officer added. The weapons and explosives, according to the letter were supplied by an enemy country, he said without elaborating the name of the country involved in supply of arms.

Officials at the police department told Dawn that about 50 per cent of the crimes, such as murder and robberies were committed by Afghans. The police, he said faced enormous problems in netting the Afghans because of non-availability of their addresses in Peshawar and elsewhere in the province.

Hundreds of Afghan refugees are wanted by police in different crimes, but most of them were at large because there is no mechanism available with the police to arrest them.“However, after the new directives, each of the Afghans involved in crimes would undergo thorough investigations even if his/her crimes are of petty nature. In this way, the well-established group which allegedly carried out acts of sabotage could be traced,” the police officer added.