LAHORE (APP): The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera has said that the Punjab police arrested 12,886 terrorists in 58,904 combing operations during the past two years.
In an exclusive interview with the APP at the Central Police Office (CPO) here on Sunday, he said the combing operations including 14,606 in Lahore, 4,030 in Sheikhpura, 5,859 in Gujranwala, 4,681 in Rawalpindi, 2,288 in Sargodha, 4,915 in Faisalabad, 6,095 in Multan, 5,121 in Sahiwal, 2,687 in Dera Ghazi Khan and 8,682 in Bahawalpur were conducted and 12,886 persons were apprehended.
To a query, he said that 8,369 persons were challaned and the courts sentenced 1,657 persons, while 6,566 cases were pending in the courts.
Provincial police chief, responding to another question, said the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) had been gathering secret information about terrorists since its formation in 2010 under the vision of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
The IGP said that 150 hard-core terrorists had been killed due to the successful operations of the CTD, while 800 cases had been registered in this regard. “Police have implemented the National Action Plan (NAP) in its true spirit and successful operations carried out against the banned organisations, their facilitators and financiers to eliminate terrorists and their sympathisers from every nook and cranny of the country,” Sukhera added.
To a question, he said that the police had taken indiscriminate action against all banned organisations, adding that cases were also registered against these outfits registered under new names.
To a question, Sukhera said extremism had been controlled in the province and now one see no confrontation on the sectarian front. He said that sectarianism had been curbed in the province by the police.
About the law and order, the IGP said that there had never been any ‘No-go areas’ in the province, adding that the presence of a Chhotu Gang was an exception which remained out of reach due to its hideout in the middle of a river sanctuary and lack of resources of the local police.
When asked about the Afghan refugees, he said there was no reported presence of illegal Afghans in the province, adding that there was only one registered Afghan refugee camp in Mianwali.
About children kidnappings, the police chief stressed the need for public awareness regarding reported kidnapping of children. He said that no gangs were involved in kidnapping of children in the province.
He said only four cases of kidnapping for ransom were registered during the past year and all four kidnapped children were recovered safely by the police.
He said all Station House Officers (SHOs) are direcetd to immediately register a case after kidnapping complaint is received.