MULTAN: Police officials have dismissed the statement of an NWFP minister about the presence of Taliban training camps in south Punjab and said they were ready to capture the militants fleeing Waziristan agencies in the wake of an imminent military operation there.

Reacting to NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Husain’s demand that a Swat-like operation be launched in south Punjab, they said some individuals from the region had gone to FATA to join the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and their activities were restricted only to those areas.

They said though some splinter factions of the banned outfits were active in the region, who were not more than 30, the situation did not warrant any operation in south Punjab. Police had plugged all routes linking Punjab with the NWFP, they claimed. About the role of seminaries in terror-related activities, Khanewal’s top police boss claimed that none of the militants from Punjab arrested or killed ever got admission to any madressas in Punjab. In Vehari, police arrested 11 alleged militants after the GHQ attack and started interrogating them.

Police officials of Multan region rejected the demand of a Swat-like military operation in south Punjab, saying the government had a complete writ in the area.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Arif Ikram told Dawn that the law and order situation in south Punjab was under control. He compared south Punjab to the NWFP in these words: ‘In the NWFP, there were many no-go areas and massive bloodshed while in south Punjab, there is no such situation.’

Lodhran District Police Officer (DPO) Syed Khurram Ali also rejected the talk of army operation in south Punjab, especially in Lodharan, saying there was no need for any military operation there as police were keeping an eye on individuals having links with sectarian or jihadi outfits in the past.

Multan City Police Officer Syed Saud Aziz, however, admitted that explosives were being dumped in parts of south Punjab but ‘this material is coming from the NWFP,’ he said.

SARGODHA: RPO Mian Javed Islam said police had been tasked with frisking the vehicles and people coming from Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Tank to Punjab areas. Police had been deployed at all routes linking Mianwali and Bhakkar with the NWFP, particularly all hilly passages, Dajil and riversides in Mianwali and Bhakkar, he said. He said there were no madressa in Sargodha involved in terror-related activities, however, some of them had been marked for their role in sectarianism. He added he was satisfied with arrangements made by Mianwali and Bhakkar police to stop the inflow of militants fleeing Waziristan agencies. He said he had directed all DPOs of the four districts of Sargodha to maintain the record of tenants.

KHANEWAL: Khanewal DPO Muhammad Kamran Khan said some people from the district were involved in terrorism but they were active in the NWFP and not in Punjab. He said two militants, Asmatullah Muavia and Rana Afzal, involved in major terrorist activities in the NWFP and other parts of the country belonged to Khanewal. ‘As per intelligence reports, both Muavia and Afzal would impart training to young people in the name of jihad in the NWFP,’ Mr Kamran told Dawn.

‘Muavia and Afzal never got admission to any seminary in Punjab,’ the DPO said. These militants received training till 2000 in Afghanistan and now they were working as trainers in terrorist camps in the NWFP. He dismissed the NWFP government’s statement that the TTP was gaining roots through religious seminaries in south Punjab, saying some of the militants captured by the police, law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies belonged to southern Punjab but none of them ever studied or received military training in any local seminary.

He said police woke up to the terrorism threat very late. ‘Till 2003, many militants were not on police record. Later, we started updating the record, which was yet to be updated,’ he said. He said the main accused of the Mianchannu blast, Master Riaz Kamboh, had never been on police data. After the blast, police started updating the record and came to know that there were 48 alleged militants missing from the police record. ‘Now, we have forwarded the names of 48 alleged militants to sensitive agencies.’ 

BAHAWALPUR: Senior police officers have denied the presence of any militant training camp in any part of the Bahawalpur division.

Bahawalpur RPO Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera said it was proper for the political leadership of Punjab to comment on the statement of the NWFP minister.

Bahawalpur DPO Humayun Bashir Tarar said he was posted in the district a month ago and so far he received no such report about militants’ activities in the district.

VEHARI: At least 40 to 50 activists of banned outfits were present in the Vehari district, which had links with militants, said Vehari DPO Akhtar Umer Lalika. He said Vehari police detained 10 activists after the GHQ attack and they all belonged to the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.

He said south Punjab had been the hub of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi in the past and Mailsi and Jalla Jeem towns of the district were ‘sensitive’ areas. However, due to police and other law enforcement agencies’ crackdown, those activists had fled their homes. He said there were no training camps in the district, however, some trained militants were present in the district and their activities were being watched. He admitted that several terrorists involved in blasts were from south Punjab. He said police and sensitive agencies were keeping an eye on seminaries.

MIANWALI: Mianwali DPO Abdul Jabar Rana said there could be some sympathisers of the Taliban in the district but there were no reports of any training camps or any other banned outfits in the district.

He said Mianwali was a peace-loving district and no one from here was reportedly found involved in any terrorist or sabotage activity in any part of the country. He said the government should organise proper policing and a counter-intelligence system to root out terrorism from the country.

LAYYAH: Police have made a team, consisting of 50 personnel, to have a close watch on the activists of banned outfits, said DPO Chaudhry Saleem. He said according to police data 55 alleged militants from the district had received training from Afghan camps. He said police registered cases against three of these people and barred them from leaving their homes without informing the police.

The DPO said 145 seminaries were operational in Layyah and police frequently monitored their activities. He said police were also monitoring the people crossing Indus River through boats. He said police had got no report of recruitments for militant outfits in the district.

In Bhakkar, police staged a flag march on Saturday and would conduct search operation along with security agencies in the riverside, said Bhakkar DSP Zahid Hussain Naqvi. He said Bhakkar could be the first stopover for the south Waziristan militants fleeing the area due to a military operation likely to be launched in days.

MUZAFFARGARH: Acting DPO Mahr Javed said there were no training camps of the Taliban in Muzaffargarh and police were maintaining strict eye on the activists of banned outfits. He said the police were reviewing the statement of the NWFP minister that there were camps of banned outfits in Punjab.

TOBA TEK SINGH: DPO Rana Ahmad Hassan said there was no evidence that people, even from banned sectarian groups, were going to Waziristan to join the Taliban.

JHANG: DPO Sultan Chaudhry said police had not found any terror-related activities in the district in the recent past. He said the only militant tracked in anti-state activities was Abdur Rehman, of Shorkot, who had returned from Waziristan after spending two weeks there. Sources said since the murder of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan leader Azam Tariq, the network of this body had almost been eliminated.