RAWALPINDI: In a crackdown, the police detained about 110 workers of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) on Thursday.

According to police sources, during the crackdown 39 people were detained in Rawalpindi, 22 in Jhelum, 16 in Chakwal, 12 in Taxila and 20 in Attock.

In Rawalpindi, the police raided different parts of the city to arrest the PAT workers but a large number of the wanted people had already gone into hiding.

A senior police officer said none of the prominent local leaders of PAT was arrested during the crackdown.

On the other hand, the police also impounded hundreds of motorcycles in different parts of the city to prevent them from taking part in the opposition rallies.

A large number of people were seen outside the office of the SP Rawal Town to release their vehicles.

Meanwhile, the police in a pre-dawn swoop in Taxila also picked scores of PAT workers and shifted them to an undisclosed place.

The detained PAT workers were identified as Qari Mohammad Zahid, Zeeshan Khan, Mohammad Saeed, Farhan Alam, Qyiadat Deen, Mohammad Iqbal, Hafiz Javaid Iqbal, Taj Khan, Salman Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Syed Wali and Najamuddin.

The police also raided a PAT seminary and a school in Mohallah Parri and Majawar, respectively, but failed to make any arrest as all the local leaders had gone underground.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2014