TOBA TEK SINGH: Arrouti police registered on Sunday a case against 135 persons, including women, under section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) and relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), for attacking revenue and police officials during an operation against illegal occupants of state land at Chak 754 GB, Pirmahal tehsil.

The suspects had injured two Arrouti police ASIs, a revenue department patwari and a peon during the operation launched by revenue department led by Pirmahal Assistant Commissioner Nadeem Baloch on Saturday night.

Complainant Tehsildar Muhammad Yasin said in the FIR registered under sections 7 of ATA and 440, 448, 395, 324, 353, 148, 149 and 186 of the PPC that the revenue officials, assisted by policemen, were demolishing some houses built illegally on the state land, when accused Zulfiqar made an announcement through a village mosque loudspeaker, asking locals to come out with wooden bars and attack the officials.

He said that on the incitement of the suspect, locals attacked and injured the revenue officials and policemen, damaged five official vehicles, besides snatching two laptops, a biometric machine and Rs19,500 cash from them.

Later, the operation was resumed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Naeem Sindhu, while the police arrested a number of suspects.

The operation continued all night in which more than a dozen cemented houses were demolished. .

The locals alleged that the officials not only “unlawfully” razed their houses built several decades ago, but police also tortured women during the operation.

FIA OPERATION: A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immigration team foiled an attempt by two Afghan citizens to travel abroad on Pakistani passports and fake documents at Faisalabad airport on Sunday.

An FIA official says that the accused, Razzaq Khan and Javed Khan, were offloaded from a Saudi Arabia-bound flight GF 790.

He says that date of birth on the passport of Razzaq was wrong, and his national identity card was also found to be fake. He was going to Saudi Arabia on a work visa, while his passport had fake protector visa stamp.

As per the official, the other accused, Javed’s real name was Ameer Hamza, who had obtained passport from an agent in Islamabad, while his data was entered in Nadra record only five months ago and a man of Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, had claimed to be his father.

He says that cases against both accused have been registered and they were handed over to FIA anti-human trafficking circle. Raids are being conducted to arrest their accomplices.

Meanwhile, in a crackdown on hawala hundi and illegal money exchange businesses, FIA arrested on Sunday three accused -- Shahbaz, Iftikhar and Naveed -- from Kamalia and Faisalabad.

The FIA officials recovered Rs120,000, 1,500 Saudi Riyals, and prize bonds from the suspects.

Record of illegal money transactions allegedly made by the suspects has also been taken in custody.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024