TAXILA, Dec 14: Three men thrashed an official of the motorway police near Burhan interchange and fled away leaving their vehicle behind.

Police sources said an official of the motorway police, Afsar Khan, was on patrol duty on Islamabad-Peshawar motorway (M-1) Burhan Section when he stopped a car (RIK -6681) for violating traffic rules on Sunday.

As the police official was issuing a ticket to them, the three persons exchanged hot words with him and then attacked him with sticks and iron rods.

When the police official aired an SOS message from his wireless set, the three men escaped, taking advantage of the darkness, leaving behind their vehicle.

Hassanabdal police registered a case on the complaint of the official against the unknown attackers and started investigations.

Jamaatud Dawa: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Rawalpindi chapter general secretary Shamsur Rehman Swati on Sunday condemned the crackdown on Jamaatud Dawa by the law-enforcement agencies and termed it a move to please the US and India.

Talking to reporters, Mr Swati said Jamaatud Dawa was a social welfare organisation and was working for the welfare and education of the poverty-stricken people of the country. He said crackdown on the Jamaat was a clear violation of human rights. He said the government was afraid of US and India and it launched a crackdown against patriotic people and organisations.

He demanded that the government sought clear evidence from the Indian government regarding involvement of a Pakistani organisation in Mumbai incident.

Responding to a question, he said the countrywide crackdown against Jamaatud Dawa had weakened the government’s credibility.