Top commander among 69 militants held in Bara swoop
Thursday, July 03, 2008
By Javed Aziz Khan & Javed Afridi
PESHAWAR: The police force, supported by personnel of the Frontier Constabulary, continued cracking down on pockets of criminal gangs in the rural areas of the provincial metropolis on Wednesday, the fifth day of the Bara operation, rounding up 69 alleged militants, including a top militant commander.
The arrested commander was identified as Amal Khan of the Lashkar-e-Islam. Authorities claimed he was arrested in Mandikas area along with his 10 companions when he was allegedly transporting ammunition to the Tirah Valley.
"A total of 87 militants have been arrested during the five days of operation Siraat-e-Mustaqeem," said an official communication. Though curfew remained imposed on the fifth day of the offensive, life was gradually returning to normal in the Bara subdivision as the paramilitary operation continued unabated.
The flow of traffic between the Khyber Agency and the provincial capital increased while people were also seen in bazaars and markets despite a curfew in the town. Contingents of the Frontier Constabulary and the police were also on high alert in the provincial capital, checking every suspect vehicle and grilling its passengers. The improved visibility and movement of police force was also witnessed in the affected towns close to the tribal belt.
The latest developments have helped the police force to get sophisticated weapons and the required manpower. The federal government had withdrawn 27 platoons of the Frontier Constabulary from other provinces soon after launching the operation.
These contingents have been put at the disposal of the Peshawar Police. More platoons of the Frontier Constabulary were already deployed in the affected towns. "Apart from manpower, the force has been given weapons that we could not even dream of. Now, we just demand a weapon and get it within no time," an SHO told The News.
Police have been given new vehicles along with light machine-guns, grenade pistols, rocket-launchers, gas guns, bullet-proof jackets and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) where it was needed.
The force has cordoned off the boundary with the Khyber Agency in the west, the Mohmand Agency in the north and Darra Adamkhel in the south by establishing 26 more security posts. Concrete bunkers have been built outside these security posts to protect the cops from any attack.
Police in Matani, Badaber, Sheikhan, Bajri, Sarband, Regi, Mathra, Michni, Daudzai and Khazana had vacated a number of security posts due to lack of manpower and ammunition in these high-risk areas.
"To boost the morale of the force and to show strength to criminal gangs, SHOs have been directed to patrol in police vans with revolving lights switched on. Since we have adopted an aggressive policy, no incursion has taken place so far," a senior police officer said.
Security has also been beefed up in Hayatabad that lies in the foot of the mountainous range of the Khyber Agency. Police authorities, however, were of the opinion that every step had been taken to protect the residents of Hayatabad from any retaliation.
AP adds: In an interview with Mangal Bagh aired on Wednesday by Geo TV and conducted at an undisclosed location, the militant chief denied he had plans to capture Peshawar or had ever fought against the government.
Bagh, sporting a thick black beard and long curly hair, told Geo TV his Lashkar-e-Islam organisation had "rendered" sacrifices over the past three years to rid the area of criminals. In Bara town on Wednesday, the bazaar, usually bustling with traders selling cloth, electronics, foodstuffs and even hashish, was empty. Frontier Corps troops sat atop shop roofs with machine guns.
About 80 local people were blocked at a checkpoint into the town, as the security forces tightened their control of access into the area. A round-the-clock curfew is in force and about 20 people were arrested on Wednesday for violating it, a local administrator said.
Baghi Shah, 73, a retired civil servant, waiting at the check-point, said he had walked five miles from his village to get spare parts for a water pump and had been waiting for two hours to be allowed back through, without luck.
"My family has no water. I need to go home, but they won't let me inside," he said, scratching his grey beard. Mangal Bagh has offered the government to hold talks and asked security forces to go back to barracks. He said Federal Environment Minister Hamidullah Jan should own the responsibility of the Bara operation and resign from the assembly.
Top commander among 69 militants held in Bara swoop
