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FAISALABAD, May 9: Dozens of members of extremist groups were rounded up across the Punjab in the backdrop of a suicide bombing in Karachi that left 15 dead, including 11 French nationals and four Pakistanis.
In the Faisalabad district, police arrested 28 activists of banned organizations from various parts of Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh and Jhang for their suspected links with Al-Qaeda.
Police sources revealed on Thursday that on the instructions of Interior Ministry, a massive crackdown was launched in the district overnight to shake the country off a fresh wave of terrorism.
Police teams headed by Sub-Divisional Police Officers raided dozens of offices and residences of leaders and activists of banned militant outfits especially Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Jaish-i-Muhammad and Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan.
“This crackdown is focused and we are picking up those who are suspected to have links with some international terrorist groups. After the arrest of suspected Al-Qaeda members from various hideouts of Faisalabad in March, security agencies had prepared a list of people who were believed to have provided them shelter”, a senior police official gave out on the condition of anonymity.
MULTAN: More than two dozen activists were arrested in Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan police ranges.
A majority of those arrested belonged to banned outfits Sipah-i-Sahaba and Sipah-i-Muhammad.
SAHIWAL: Sahiwal police arrested five leaders of banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and an activist of Jaish-i-Muhammad on Wednesday.
Those arrested were: Maulana Inamullah Shah Bukhari (SSP’s Sahiwal president), Qari Shakeel Ahmed (tehsil president), Haji Muhammad Ashiq and Qari Farooq Ahmed (Chichawatni), Maulana Muhammad Tayyab and Khalil Ahmed (Jaish-i-Muhammad).
Police took away Jamil, the nephew of SSP’s Qari Abdul Jabbar who escaped.
Families alleged that the police trespassed the houses and hurled threats to the members.
In separate statements, Khatm-i-Nabuwwat and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leaders Maulana Abdul Sattar, Khalid Latif Cheema, Muhammad Usman Mufti and Hafiz Masood Tariq strongly condemned the arrests.
GUJRANWALA: The local police took around a dozen people of banned organizations into custody here on Thursday.
Those arrested were later shifted to unknown places.
Meanwhile, scores of leaders and activists of religious parties have gone underground for the fear of arrest.
