ISLAMABAD, June 26: In what looked to be a move to protect property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain from being arrested by the Rawalpindi police in a land fraud case, the capital police held a flag march in Bahria Town, sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

A senior police officer said, “This flag march held on Saturday was followed by another on Sunday.”

Replying to a question about the reason behind holding the march in the housing society, he said it was conducted due to a ‘sensitive movement’ in the area. However, he was reluctant to disclose the details.

The sources said the flag march was held in each and every street of all the eight phases of Bahria Town by the capital’s rural zone police. The eight phases spread in the limits of Sihala, Rawat and Morgah police of Rawalpindi district.

However, the capital police accompanied by security staff and vehicles of Bahria Town also trespassed into the limits of Rawalpindi and moved around in the jurisdictions of Rawat and Morgah police.

The flag march was held under the supervision of a superintendent who had the strength of over 50 policemen, including three DSPs and six station house officers of the rural zone comprising Sihala, Loi Bher, Koral, Shahzad Town, Nilor and Banigala.

Personnel of Anti-Terrorism Squad also accompanied the police.

A police officer, when contacted, said the flag march was held in response to information that the Rawalpindi police had moved to Bahria Town Phase-VIII, Morgah, to conduct a raid for the arrest of Malik Riaz.

A few days back when a 22-member police and anti-corruption establishment team from Rawalpindi reached the Aabpara police station to arrest the property tycoon from his G-6/3 house, they were detained and then escorted out of the city.

It may be mentioned that usually a flag march is held by law enforcement agencies, paramilitary and military personnel, in an orderly fashion to infuse a sense of security among the people, usually to show their preparedness before public gatherings on religious and national events.