RAWALPINDI: The National Action Plan will be fully implemented while action against ‘illegal foreigners’ will be taken and tenancies will be registered.

The decisions were taken at a joint meeting of the district police chief and the district administration officials held at the Police Lines Headquarters on Thursday. It was decided to launch a joint operation with police and other relevant departments to clear the city’s entrance roads and streets of encroachments.

Following the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a joint meeting of the police and district administration was held at the Police Lines Headquarters under the chairmanship of CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani and Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema, a police spokesman said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Operations, SSP Investigation, Additional Deputy Commissioner General, Divisional SPs, SPCIA, SP Headquarters, SP Security, Assistant Commissioners, SDPOs and other senior police officers participated in the meeting.

According to the Punjab government’s regulations, the city will be cleared of encroachments, and the roads will be beautified and made safer. Legal action against illegal gas and petrol agencies is also on the cards.

As part of the anti-encroachment campaign, encroachments on roads in Taxila, Mehrabad, Faizabad, and Gujar Khan will be removed, and a joint crackdown will be launched against beggars across the city. The police have reportedly detained 39 beggars.

The police, district administration, and other relevant agencies will also be involved in the operation against the purchase and sale of fireworks.

Similarly, effective operations against kite flying, celebratory firing, and pigeon shooting will continue.

The crackdown on drugs will also take place, and steps will be taken to treat those with substance use disorders. The meeting also decided to further improve the Peace Committee to resolve collective issues.

On the other hand, 15 robberies, 22 motorcycle thefts and 30 cases of theft were reported to the police in which people were deprived of their hard-earned money and valuables, the statistics showed.

Two suspected terrorists arrested

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Thursday it carried out an operation near Mughal Market in Rawalpindi, arresting two suspected terrorists linked to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A spokesman for the CTD said the alleged terrorists confessed to carrying out a hand grenade attack on the I-9 police station a few months ago. The suspects were identified as Hamza and Roman.

“The intelligence-based operation was conducted to apprehend the terrorists, who had already conducted reconnaissance of sensitive locations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad for planned attacks,” the spokesperson claimed. The arrested militants were in contact with a key commander of TTP in Afghanistan, the CTD official claimed.

“A significant cache of weapons and explosives, including hand grenades, a large quantity of explosive material, detonators, safety fuses and wires, was recovered from the suspects,” he said, adding that a case had been registered against the terrorists, and further investigations are underway.

During the initial interrogation, the arrested men allegedly confessed to carrying out a hand grenade attack on the I-9 police station a few months ago, the CTD said.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2025