HARIPUR, Feb 8: The local administration has decided to shift all the refugees residing in different parts of Haripur to refugee camps situated at the outer fringes of the district, a bid to curb increasing number of robberies and dacoities and alleged involvement of Afghan refugees in criminal activities in Haripur.

The decision was taken at a meeting of local police officials held here on Thursday, attended by the officials in charge of police stations of the district. They were directed to scan their respective areas and vacate the houses rented out to the Afghan refugees by the locals.

Complying with the orders, the official in charge of TIP police post has got over a dozen houses from the Afghan DPs vacated in Mohalla Rajaabad, Afzalabad, Aziz Colony and Roshanabad. A number of landlords who had been hosting these refugees for a long time, were also asked to get their houses vacated. The families, who were expelled, were asked to go to the camps.

These refugees, according to police sources, were involved in a number of criminal activities.

For the eviction of Afghan refugees from different localities and confining them to camps, the local people and elected representatives had long been pressing the local administration to shift the refugees to camps.

According to sources at the local Afghan Commissionerate office, there are over 100,000 Afghan refugees legally residing at camps in the district, while over 10,000 unregistered refugees are living in different localities.

SHOT DEAD: A bakery owner was shot dead by his relatives in a broad daylight here on Thursday.