SWABI: The police on Thursday arrested owners of 28 buildings in the district for not informing them about alien tenants, including Afghans.
The arrests were made under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rented Building (Security) Act.
The police said they’d conducted an operation in Swabi city and Zaida area to know whether Afghans or other aliens living in houses on rent had been registered with the administration or the relevant police station.
They said they had already asked building owners to inform them about Afghans or other aliens staying in their buildings.
An official said the police extended every possible help to building owners for compiling the details of alien tenets.
He said separate cases had been registered against the building owners, who didn’t inform the police about alien tenants, including Afghans, and that they would be dealt with under the relevant law.
The official said those failing to share record of alien tenants with the police would face the music.
When contacted, the arrested building owners confirmed the police had asked them to produce details of alien tenants even before the Army Public School Peshawar massacre took place on Dec 16.
They, however, said the exercise to know about illegal aliens, including Afghans, was complicated but they did their job in line with the instructions of the police.
Meanwhile, the police have arrested 14 Afghan nationals over illegal stay in the country and registered cases against them. Now, the illegal Afghans arrested in the district total 46.
An official said the arrested Afghans would be sent home honourably.
BAN LIFTED: The district police on Thursday lifted the ban on issuance of computerised driving licences.
The ban, which was imposed seven months ago, was lifted following a meeting between district police officer Sajjad Khan and ASP Mian Mumtaz. During the meeting, two also spoke to the relevant officials in Peshawar over the telephone.
Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2015
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