FAISALABAD, Feb 11: Police have kept seminaries under surveillance in the district to find the presence of any ‘hardened criminal or militant’ ahead of President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to the city on Feb 17, police sources told Dawn on Sunday.

They said that police had been directed to keep an eye on the activities of seminaries to avoid any untoward incident during or before the visit.

Policemen in civvies have been deployed around the seminaries.

Police have asked the seminaries to provide details of their students in a bid to identify students from Wana, Waziristan and Afghanistan, if any, sources said.

Police were in touch with seminaries administrations to check the movements of their visitors and students, sources added.

A police officer requesting anonymity said that station house officers had been directed to conduct surveys of the seminaries in their areas. He said the seminaries were fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

He said besides police other law enforcement agencies were also involved in the operation. Intelligence about any potential threat was also being exchanged with other agencies, he said.

The president will address a public gathering at the Iqbal Stadium and inaugurate the M-3 industrial estate during his visit to the city.

Three hundred troopers would also arrive in the city to make security arrangements for the president, sources said.

Earlier, Musharraf visited Faisalabad on March 14, 2006, and addressed the centennial ceremony of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF).

During his visit, tight security measures were also taken. The university administration had built a commemorative plaque without consulting security forces, which was razed and reconstructed according to the direction of the law enforcers.

The institution was virtually under the control of security forces a week ahead of the president’s visit. Students were ordered to vacate hostels for one week and classes were suspended for the same period.

Sources said law enforcers had jammed Internet in the university to stop flow of information from and to the UAF. The movements of the people residing in the university colonies were also restricted.

This time, the UAF administration has also been asked to provide the list of foreign students on its rolls, sources added.

Sources said the district administration had also been directed to make arrangements to bring maximum people to the Iqbal Stadium as the meeting could be made a success.

Regional Police officer Talat Mehmood told Dawn the president was a high profile personality so it was mandatory to make foolproof security arrangements. He confirmed the checking of seminaries and said it was a routine affair.