RAWALPINDI, Oct 10: City Police Officer (CPO) Rao Mohammad Iqbal has said that law enforcers are hunting for a suspicious vehicle which the security agencies fear could be used in a terrorist strike in the city.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Police Lines Headquarters on Friday, CPO Iqbal said reports about the vehicle bearing the insignia of a specialised organisation were received on Thursday.

Pickets jointly manned by personnel of Islamabad and Rawalpindi police have been set up at different points on the boundary between the twin cities, he added.

“Strict checking is being carried out for the safety of the people, however, police are focusing on random searches to facilitate the public to the maximum,” according to CPO Iqbal.

He said the Special Branch and the Civil Defence department had equipment to detect explosives and homemade bombs, but the police lacked such apparatus.

“We do not have the latest and expensive magnetic system like that installed at foreign ports to detect arms, explosives and narcotics concealed inside containers.”

The CPO said Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed in the Rawalpindi’s cantonment limits would become operational shortly, adding that authorities were considering installing similar security system on Benazir Bhutto Road.

The police officer denied that a security lapse occurred at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Thursday night when a burqa-clad man managed to reach close to the domestic departure lounge before being arrested by the security staff.

However, he agreed that the suspect should have been intercepted at the entrance gate.

The CPO said the man trying to settled a domestic issue disguised as a woman to conceal his identity, but stressed that he should not have done so because it created panic.

He said the accused was arrested and a case was registered against him with the Airport police. CPO Iqbal said the police had traced two criminals’ gangs – one comprising five members and the other 10 members – involved in street crime and auto theft. Gold jewellery valuing at Rs1 million, Rs200,000 in cash and other valuables were recovered from the robbers. He said the Westridge police seized 2,000 bottles of liquor and arrested a man, Mohammad Sajid, who was involved in supplying the contraband.

The CPO said a local Taliban group was behind the twin suicide bombings in Wah Cantonment in August.

“A third suicide bomber, Hameedullah, had been arrested and sent to jail, while his two accomplices were also traced by the police,” he added.

He declined to give names of the two detainees due to the sensitivity of the issue.