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| Top Taliban commander held in Punjab |
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Monday, November 16, 2009
By Shakeel Anjum
ISLAMABAD: Intelligence agencies have captured a top leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from a major city of the Punjab after trailing him for a week. The leader who can only be identified by his initials N.A.Z owing to sensitive ongoing interrogations is said to rank amongst the top leaders of the category -3 classification done by the law enforcing agencies. Category-1 includes Osama Bin Laden, Mulla Omar and Aymen al-Zawahiri. Category-2 includes Hakeemullah Mehsud, Maulvi Fazlullah etc, while Category-3 top leaders comprise the cadre that is directly responsible for specific territories, which in this terrorist leader’s case was the entire Punjab and the federal capital. He was described by an investigating official as an “information treasure trove”.
N.A.Z hails from a Middle Eastern country and was reportedly the chief planner of terrorist activities in Punjab and the federal capital territory, the sources said.
The apprehended terrorist top gun had arrived in Punjab a few days back to put terrorism activities in Punjab and the federal capital in top gear. Weeks earlier, he had come to personally monitor, and even lead a major terrorist attack in Islamabad, possibly in the Red Zone, sources claimed.
The top terrorist arrived in a hamlet near Manaal (the restaurant located high on the Margallah hills) sometime during the last week of October, then moved to Talhaarh located on the North end of the hills and that’s where the intelligence agencies got wind of his presence. Once again he moved, unaware of the fact that the intelligence agencies were on his trail, this time to Chak Gah, a small village located in vicinity of Manaal. All along search operations by the intelligence agencies were launched in different hamlets adjacent to Talhaar and Manaal and the law enforcing agencies, equipped with sophisticated technology, combed the area but found nothing, sources told The News.
Meanwhile, the Taliban leader disappeared from the scene and was once again spotted in South Waziristan, the sources maintained. The intelligence agencies kept monitoring his activities and finally trapped him as he reached a major city of the Punjab to execute a major terrorist plan.
The source said that the suspect adopted a circuitous route to reach Islamabad. He reached Mardan to leave for Mansehra on vehicle, the sources disclosed adding that he arrived at Khanpur via Haripur and then Talhaar via Lora, located in the mountain of Margalla but falling in the jurisdiction of NWFP.
A part of Talhaar is located in the jurisdiction of police station Lora in NWFP whereas the major part falls within the jurisdiction of Kohsar police station in Islamabad capital territory (ICT), the sources said.
The TTP leader entered the ICT via Talhaar, Gokina, Manaal and reached Chak Gah. “A mule track leads to Saidpur village (Model village) from Chak Gah and Saidpur village is 5 kilometer down from Manaal,” sources said, adding, a drain was a barrier between the mule track and Saidpur village but it can be crossed easily.
The sources claimed that the TTP leader wanted to enter Islamabad through Saidpur village but he postponed his plan as he had suspected surveillance by intelligence agencies. However, the law enforcing agencies have deployed contingents of Rangers, Frontier Constabulary (FC) and police commandos on Margalla hilltops after the attempt of the TTP top leadership to enter Islamabad.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Syed Kaleem Imam told The News that contingents of paramilitary forces have been deployed at different vital points of Margala Hills to prevent possible activities of miscreants. “22 posts of Rangers have been set at Margala Hills,” the IGP said.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
