forces and 17 for selling arms illegally.During the period, the Peshawar Police registered 2,856 cases under the 14 Foreigners Act while 4,695 unregistered Afghans were arrested and deported to their home country.
The action under the Foreigners Act is taken against those who do not have any document to legalise their stay in Pakistan either as refugee or as legal visitor. There are estimates that around one million Afghans living in the country do not have any document to legalise their stay in Pakistan.
The police and the security forces have accelerated action all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the NAP that was launched after attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16 last year. The attack, considered to be the worst terror attack in the history of the country, had claimed around 150 lives, with more than 135 children.
Some political leaders and analysts want the operations under the NAP to be expedited all over Pakistan. After a suicide attack on chief of Qaumi Watan Party Aftab Ahmad Sherpao in Charsadda, he and his party leaders stressed the need for more search and strike action under the NAP in Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan and other towns.
“We all must work for implementation of the NAP and monitor the progress of state institutions on its implementation,” Marvi Sirmed, a columnist and civil society activist, told The News.
Peshawar has suffered the most due to violence and that is the reason more efforts are needed to secure the city. Senior police officials said their men have sacrificed the most and were ready to do more for the security of the country.
“Hundreds of our cops have offered the supreme sacrifice of their lives for restoration of peace. We have held 123 meetings with the families of the martyred cops to know about their problems after their loved ones sacrificed their lives for the country,” said the deputy chief of the Peshawar Police Dr Mian Saeed.
He added that kutcheries (open courts) were held at 20 places to know about the problems of the people and seek their cooperation about any suspicious activity in their area. Under the NAP, 106 hotels and inns were checked and 214 accused were held by the police. Security of foreigners and sensitive installations was upgraded to avoid any threat from the tribal areas.
“During snap checking, the police verified 29,100 vehicles and 131 were impounded as these were lifted, snatched or didn’t have record with the concerned department,” Dr Mian Saeed said. He added that the police, via the criminal record verification system, checked 7,639 people. He said 7,637 of them were cleared while two were rounded up.