ISLAMABAD: Some of the city’s bad elements on the government’s watch list have gone underground to escape the heightened surveillance mounted after the Peshawar carnage, Dawn learned on Thursday.

Police sources said the list of suspected criminals and their police record were retrieved from a pile long dumped in the store room after the authorities ordered to check upon the 27 men on the list.

That list containing the names of suspects was prepared at the turn of this century, and included religious figures nominated under Schedule 4 of Anti-Terrorism Act.

Since then the capital police have proposed 12 more names to be put on the list and have “identified” 15 other citizens of Islamabad as potentially dangerous persons in the wake of Peshawar carnage, the sources said.

People marked under Schedule 4 are bound to report their presence in the city to the police periodically and can be arrested if they leave the city without informing their area police.

A police officer hinted to Dawn that those on the list may be put under house arrest, but SSP Asmatullah Junejo denied that.

“People on the watch list had not been checked upon for quite some time,” said the senior officer.

“We are doing our homework and will await directions from the government when we are finished with the exercise.”

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2014