ISLAMABAD: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Islamabad Police have launched search operations in the slums of Islamabad to trace the culprits involved in the violent attacks on police and its installations during the three-day protests in the aftermath of the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Dawn has learnt through sources on Thursday.

Besides tracing those who carried out attacks on the police and damaged public and private properties, the sources said, the CTD teams had also been given the task to carry out door-to-door (knocking) search in the capital’s slums to find out the possible hideouts of the terrorists in the wake of the intelligence reports after the recent rise in terrorism in various parts of the country.

As many as six different teams comprising officers and officials of the CTD have been constituted to conduct the search operations. Besides tracing the May 9 arsonists, the teams will also update the data under the Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) programme launched by the CTD few months back. Through the PVE programme, the police have been maintaining the data of the students and teachers of the religious seminaries and foreigners residing in different parts of the capital as well as the religious scholars who were found to be involved in unlawful activities and delivering hate speeches.

The sources said the door-to-door search operation was being conducted under the supervision of the deputy superintendent of police (operations).

Meanwhile, the sources disclosed that despite seeking help from Nadra (National Database and Registration Authority) and the Safe City project, the police had been unable to identify a number of miscreants who were found involved in the May 9 violent incidents. They said the police sent pictures of 80 people who had set the SP Office on fire in the Industrial Area, but so far they had been able to identify only few of them. They said that the data of a large number of these people was not found with Nadra, thus indicating that they were not Pakistanis.

The CTD teams are carrying out the search operation in G-8 area which will continue for the next few days.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2023