The attack on Army Public School in Peshawar served as a wake-up call for the capital police who had remained preoccupied with keeping political protesters in D-Chowk at bay and ignoring reports of presence of terrorists in the capital.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tahir Alam was talking to media at Police Line Headquarters following funeral prayer in absentia on December 17.

He said police had been in an ‘anti-riot mode’ for the last five months with political demonstrations and sit-ins being staged in the capital.

However, following the Peshawar attack, the focus is now shifting towards those who pose more threats to security.

When asked about the presence of terrorists in Bhara Kahu and Tarnol areas and possible involvement of religious seminaries in terrorism, the IGP said: “We are aware of it.”

The IGP said police were watching these suburbs of the capital very closely and intelligence reports were being collected.

He added that police were also watching religious seminaries for their possible involvement in militancy and terrorism.

The admittance by the IGP of the presence of terrorists in the area is not new as several intelligence reports have emerged in the past suggesting the presence of militants and terrorists in the suburbs of Islamabad.

Reports were proved when a senior member of the Haqqani group, Naseeruddin Haqqani, was reportedly killed in Bhara Kahu on November 10, 2013 by unknown assailants.

Following the incident, Special Branch of the capital police increased surveillance in Bhara Kahu as a result of which a number of residents suddenly left their homes.

The Special Branch conducted a survey to collect details of people residing in the area and found a number of empty houses locked-up from outside.

It was revealed that a majority of these empty houses were occupied by men in their 20s and 30s. Some houses had been occupied by families from North and South Waziristan, Wana, Swat, Hangu, Dir, Parachinar, Orakzai Agency, Kohat and Kurram Agency.

In the survey, police also found Afghans living in the area who did not have National Aliens Registration Authority (NARA)cards.

Intelligence agencies had also alerted police in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi about seminaries which were actively supporting Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in carrying out terrorist activities. Two seminaries in Islamabad and 20 in Rawalpindi were identified in this report.

Additionally it was reported that clerics at a number of mosques were also supporters of the ideology of the TTP and working to facilitate their activities.

Despite receiving these reports, no action was taken against those identified and police officials admitted to negligence in this regard and said perhaps it was not too late to take action now.

Since the Peshawar attack on December 16, police have carried out 29 Intelligence Base Operations (IBOs) in various areas of the capital including Bhara Kahu, Tarnol, Sabzi Mandi, Golra and the Margalla Hills in the villages of Talhar and Gokina.

Police carried out the IBOs fearing retaliation from militant groups after the execution of convicted terrorists and hoping to prevent more attacks.

Operations were jointly carried out by police, Rangers and personnel of security agencies. As many as 709 arrests were made in these operations and 268 of those arrested were released after their identities were verified.

Similarly, 416 were detained under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 55 (arrest of vagabonds, habitual robbers, etc) and 109 (security for good behaviour from vagrants and suspected persons).

Police admitted that like 2013, again they had found locked up houses in Shahzad Town, Bhara Kahu, Golra and Tarnol areas once news of the IBO got out. The residents who had left under suspicious circumstances were quite possibly militants who had gotten away.

Nine detonators, 75gms of explosives, two rifles, 10 pistols, 912 bullets, 1.1kg hashish, 300gms heroin and 334 bottles of liquor were recovered in the operations.

On December 20, more IBOs were carried out in Bhara Kahu, Tarnol, Golra, slums, Afghan settlements, bus terminals, under-construction buildings, green areas and rural areas which led to the arrest of 300 more suspects.

During an operation in Bhara Kahu, there was exchange of fire between some unidentified persons and a joint raiding team, the officials said.

They added that later the gunmen were arrested and shifted to an unidentified location for interrogation.

On December 23, an Afghan was arrested during a search operation in Chak Shahzad area and photos of schools and maps were recovered from him. Eight other men from Waziristan were also arrested and weapons including submachine guns and pistols were found in their possession.

Later a call was made from the area of Chattha Bakhtawar in which a man informed another in Afghanistan that the group sent for carrying out terrorist attacks has been arrested in the operation in Chak Shahzad.

“It is believed that the receiver of the call is a commander of a militants group,” officials said.

On December 25 another operation was conducted in Mehrabadi, Golra, Sabzi Mandi and Afghan Basti which led to the arrest of 83 suspects, including two Afghans.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2014