More than 500 suspected terrorists belonging to banned outfits have been nabbed by the security forces from across Pakistan including the federal capital, BBC Urdu reported on Wednesday.
Speaking to BBC Urdu on condition of anonymity, and official of the Interior Ministry said these detainees would be treated under the newly legislated Protection of Pakistan Act (PPA) 2014. The arrests have been made against the backdrop of ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan to curb the likely backlash from terrorists, he added.
According to the official, more than 300 suspects were arrested from Punjab province mainly from Bahawalpur while more than 100 were arrested from Karachi and around 150 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
A report sent to the federal government by the intelligence agencies cited most number of Taliban and their sympathizers were settled in Karachi after North and South Waziristan tribal agencies bordering Afghanistan, the official revealed.
Law enforcement and secret agencies have apprised the Interior Ministry and NACTA – newly formed government body mandated to form the country’s anti-terrorism policy – about the crackdown against banned outfits.
It may be mentioned that the Islamabad High Court (IHC), invalidating a notification to bring NACTA under the Interior Ministry, had recently ordered it to work under the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
