RAWALPINDI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday arrested six people for illegally collecting hides.

A security official said one of the arrested men was an active member of a banned religious outfit and had previously been placed on a CTD ‘watch-list’ for his alleged involvement in target killings. He was arrested by the CTD while collecting hides on Saturday.

According to security sources, the district administration on Sunday cancelled the permission granted to a banned outfit’s welfare wing for animal hide collection after intelligence reports showed that it was already on the police ‘watch-list’. The reports said the permission should not have been given to the group in the first place.

City Police Officer Israr Ahmed said four cases were registered with the district police and seven people arrested for illegal collection of animal hides. He, however, said none of the arrested people was associated with any banned outfit.

Intelligence reports also said hides were collected by different madressahs, including two seminaries whose administrators were already placed on the police watch-list under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Published in Dawn, September 28th , 2015

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