ISLAMABAD: Security forces raided a house in the Pindorian suburbs in the early hours of Wednesday and arrested six persons suspected of having links with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), sources told Dawn.

“They were being tracked for a couple of weeks and were found in a terrorist hideout in the Shahzad Town police precinct,” the sources said, confiding that the six belonged to the Khorasani group of the Mohmand Agency chapter of the TTP.

Nothing “worth mentioning” was recovered from the suspects by the raiding party, which included paramilitary elements, and they were taken to an undisclosed location for further interrogation.

They arrived in the federal capital recently and were hiding in the house. Their arrest is considered a ‘great success’ as hopefully they will help the security forces reach other terrorists who might have infiltrated the twin cities and their adjacent areas, said the sources. 

Early this month Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan - and before him Islamabad Inspector General of Police Tahir Alam Khan - had told media about the “presence of terrorists” in the federal capital. 

In fact, the local intelligence department had alerted the authorities concerned about a year ago that militants may be arriving here, mingled with the IDPs leaving North Waziristan before the military launched its Operation Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP elements.

Vigilance had been intensified at bus terminals in the capital in the wake of the December 16 schoolchildren massacre in Peshawar. Capital police have also been watching vehicles and passengers arriving into the city and gathering intelligence.

Police picked up 80 suspects in search operations they conducted in Kohsar, Margalla, Shalimar, Ramna, Golra and Tarnol precincts.

These security searches also covered Saidpur, Sectors G-8, F-10, G-10, G-13, G-14, Dhoke Rehmania, Sohan, New Abadi Faisal Colony, Jhangi Syedan as well as under-construction buildings there.

Published in Dawn January 22nd , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play