KOHAT: Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Mesud has said that like other four sensitive districts the mobile phone service will remain suspended in Kohat on the 9th and 10th of Muharram.

Addressing a press conference here, he said that the decision had been made to keep all bazaars closed during the mourners’ procession due to security reasons.

During inspection of the joint command post of security forces and police, he said that army troops had been included in the quick response force to act swiftly in case of any untoward incident.

He said that a decision had been made to monitor the processions from air, while elders had been engaged for keep close liaison with them for maintenance of peace. Earlier, he chaired a high-level meeting which was attended by deputy inspector general of police, Kohat region, Mohammad Ijaz Khan, DPOs of Kohat and Hangu and other officers.

He got briefing from the DIG on security preparations and identifications of sensitive worship places and mechanism to keep watch on them besides deployment of forces in Kohat and Hangu.

He said that effective coordination would be kept with the intelligence agencies to keep watch on suspicious movements in the districts and on the borders.

GANG BUSTED: The police busted a four-member gang of dacoits who looted shops and houses in Junglekhel and recovered the booty and weapons from them during a raid on Saturday.

Following complaints, the police surrounded a house in Chakar Mela, Junglekhel, and asked the alleged dacoits to surrender. The four were identified as Kashif Shah, Shoaib, Hussain Shah and Talah Mehmood. Four pistols were also recovered from their possession. Their names were included in various FIRs already registered against them.

Meanwhile, an attempt to smuggle non-custom paid cloth was foiled and an alleged carrier, identified as Jehanzeb Said of Badhber, arrested at KDA bypass road on Saturday.

POLLING DAY ATTACK: The police have nominated six workers, said to be of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, in a case of attack on a women’s polling station and burning ballot papers soon after end of polling on the night of 2018 general elections.

An official of election commission, Nauman, said that presiding officer of the polling station of Babri Banda had lodged a complaint with the district police officer and asked him to register an FIR of the case a day after the elections.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2018