ISLAMABAD, April 13: The metal detectors being used at the entrance of the weekly bazaar at Peshawar Mor, G-9 sector, are out of order, raising risk of terrorist activities, sources told Dawn.

There are seven entry points at the bazaar, and the metal detectors, provided by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), are not working at six gates. These devices do not give signals even if someone enters with bags full of metals, the sources said.

The only exception is at gate no 5 where the police personnel from the special branch check the people with a working device.

However, the police do not bring this detector regularly and so at times no checking is carried out at the gate, the sources added.

Besides, the police and CDA staff, security guards of private security agencies are also deployed at the gates.

A CDA employee told this reporter that they checked all the people with these detectors just to give the impression that the devices were in working condition.

He said: “We bring the detectors close to the bags and purses of all people. However, we do not activate them so that no signal is produced.

“We are not allowed to push the button because then these old devices give signals at everything whether metallic or non- metallic.” The sources said trucks and other vehicles loaded with fruits, vegetables and other commodities enter through gates no 4 and 7 without being checked.—Junaid Bahadur