- IGP says army can also provide assistance in the process
GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan government has decided to screen all government employees to identify if they have affiliations with extremist groups, a senior most police official said on Friday.
“The screening will be across the board and police employees will also be screened,” said Sanaullah Abbasi, the regional police chief, on Friday while speaking to journalists at his office, without explaining what prompted the government to carry out the process.
“We want that officials perform their duties with utmost professionalism,” the inspector general of police said. However, the Police Department officials said that the decision was taken after the arrest of four policemen for their alleged links with an extremist group operating in the region.
“We are interrogating them to find out if they have an affiliation with any group,” they said about the extremists who have bombed and burnt down a dozen girls schools in Diamer Valley. In a shootout later on, the police shot dead a high-profile terrorist, and his accomplice in Gilgit after they attacked a police check-post.
In the latest development, the police arrested half a dozen seminary students allegedly planning to attack a girl school and college in Ghizer district. About the purported operation against militants, the police chief said that the screening would be launched by the police while the army might come for assistance when and if required.
