474 arrested in Peshawar search

PESHAWAR: Around 474 suspects were arrested in a massive search and strike operation carried out by the Peshawar Police along with army soldiers and officers of the Pakistan Air Force in the vicinity of the Bacha Khan International Airport and PAF airbase on Friday.
The search operation started at 5am and it continued for five hours. All the superintendents of police (SPs), sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs) and other officials took part in the operation. It was carried out in the limits of Tehkal, University Town and Pishtakhara police stations.
“Apart from the officers, over 400 policemen and around 100 army soldiers took part in the operation. We divided the area into three zones each headed by one SP,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Mian Saeed Ahmad told The News.
He added that 48 teams were constituted for conducting the operation.The deputy police chief of the capital city said the experts of the bomb disposal unit, geo-tagging and vehicles verification accompanied the police teams.
“A number of suspected buildings and people were checked. Those arrested during the operation included suspects, proclaimed offenders and Afghans illegally staying in KP,” Mian Saeed said.All those held during the operation were brought to different police stations where they were interrogated by teams headed by the SDPOs.
“The SDPOs were directed to release the innocent people. Others will be thoroughly grilled,” added SSP Operations. He said the cops had been directed to be polite with innocent civilians.The massive operation, jointly carried out by the police army and PAF officers, is part of the new policy of proactive policing to secure Peshawar from attacks.
Similar actions will be taken in the coming days. The routine search operations are already taking place in different parts of the provincial capital after the attack on the Army Public School on December 16.
There were reports that the Friday operation was carried out after specific threats to the airport and the adjacent airbase. A number of attacks were carried out on both the establishments in the past several years, including a suicide attack in December 2012.
Rockets were also fired to target the airport in the past. At least three attempts have been made to hit the aeroplanes from the funnel area before landing at the Bacha Khan International Airport. In one such attack, a woman passenger returning after performing Umrah was killed and two crewmembers were wounded.
The police later said the group involved in attacks on planes was identified and its head, Shahid, killed.A member of the ring was apprehended recently. He is alleged to be involved in several terrorist acts in the southern towns in Peshawar.