Islamabad - The overlooked entry of criminals into the federal capital, particularly in its suburbs, during the last several years raises serious questions about the security of the residents and simultaneously puts a question mark on the efficiency of the law-enforcement agencies.
The official information suggests that localities situated in the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) are loaded with gangs of murderers, kidnappers, rapists and drug smugglers. A survey of the city suggests that Nurpur Shahan, Golra, Bhara Kahu and Tarnol areas in the ICT limits have become safe havens for criminals.
All these areas with low housing cost and being away from the mainstream vigilance system of the local police have witnessed influx of criminals in recent years.
Interestingly, there is no local on the list of 30 most-wanted terrorists by Islamabad police, suggesting these criminals entered the city, carried out terrorist activities and vanished, leaving the local police in wandering.
“They (terrorists) would not stay in a posh sector in the heart of the city. They would prefer suburbs so as to avoid easy monitoring from the law enforcing agencies,” said a local police officer on condition of anonymity when asked about the influx of criminals into suburban areas of the capital. He was of the view that selection of rural areas by the criminals is due to low housing cost as well as easy and unnoticed movement.
According to the FIA, 30 high profile terrorists are still wanted by the ICT police in different cases and all of them belong to the areas other than the capital. Similarly, local police have been chasing 221 persons wanted in different criminal cases and a considerable number of these criminals are not locals.
Rana Ishfaq Ahmed s/o Rana Muhammad Shafi and Muhammad Imran alias Leader s/o Muhammad Younas, who have been wanted by police station Secretariat in Marriott Hotel bomb blast case since 2008, are residents of Tehsil Samundri of district Faisalabad and village Nodar, Rustam area of district Mardan respectively. Amjad Shah (organizational name Bukhari) alias Saleem s/o Ghulam Abbas has been wanted by police station Golra Sharif since 2003 under ATA. He is a resident of Toba Tek Singh. Similarly, Qari Hussain wanted by PS Aabpara is a resident of South Waziristan. Qari Amir Saghir s/o Muhammad Saghir wanted by PS Aabpara is resident of Tehsil Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi. Waqas Ahmed alias Iran s/o Abdul Sattar wanted by PS Koral is a resident of district Sargodha; Niaz Raheem wanted by PS Aabpara, PS Kohsar and PS Margalla is a resident of Charsadda; Ajmal alias Muhammad wanted by PS Aabpara and PS Kohsar is a resident of Mardan; Habib Ullah alias Haider wanted by PS Aabpara and PS Kohsar is a resident of Charsadda; Dildaar Khan s/o Shafi Khan wanted by PS Margalla is a resident of Kohat; Javed Khan s/o Blawar Din wanted by PS Koral is a resident of district Kohat; Hayat Muhammad alias Shino s/o Guli Muhammad wanted by PS Koral is a resident of Orakzai Agency; Hafiz Saeed wanted by PS Margalla is a resident of Orakzai; Abdul Razzaq wanted by PS Shalimar is a resident of district Batagram; Muhammad Tanveer alias Nasir s/o Saeed Ahmed wanted by PS Kohsar and PS Aabpara is a resident of Mandi Bahauddin; Ilyas Kashmiri wanted by PS Koral is a resident of Bhimber, AJK; Saif Ullah alias Obaid Ullah s/o Haji Allah Bakhsh wanted by PS Secretariat is a resident of district Vehari; Zafar Hammad alias Asad Ullah s/o Miran Khan wanted by PS Bhara Kahu is a resident of district Noshehra; Syed Sabtain Kazmi s/o Syed Ghulam Shabbier Shah wanted by PS Golra is a resident of district Sargodha; Rizwan Ali s/o Rang Ali wanted by PS Golra is a resident of Satellite Town, Sargodha; Kalab Abbas Shah Qazmi s/o Sulaiman Shah wanted by PS Golra is a resident of Lila, district Jehlum; Syed Kashif Ali Raza s/o Syed Akhtar Hussain wanted by PS Golra is a resident of tehsil Pind Dadan Khan, district Jhelum; Mohsin Naqvi s/o Kafait Hussain Naqvi wanted by PS Golra is a resident of Muzaffarabad, AJK; Asad Abbas s/o Ghulam Raza Muhammad wanted by PS Golra is a resident of Dhudial, district Chakwal; Zafar Ali Shah alias Ali s/o Safdar Hussain Shah wanted by PS Secretariat and PS Kohsar is a resident of Rawalpindi; Imran alias Hodi s/o Ghulam Rasool wanted by PS Secretariat and PS Kohsar is a resident of Kahira Klaan, district Rawalpindi; Rajab Ali alias Majeed wanted by PS Secretariat and PS Kohsar is a resident of Gujar Khan, district Rawalpindi; Muhammad Saleem wanted by PS Secretariat and PS Kohsar is a resident of district Faisalabad; Imran alias Jugnu wanted by PS Secretariat and PS Kohsar is a resident of Chiniot, district Jhang; and Syed Mansoor Ali Shah s/o Altaf Hussain Shah wanted by PS Secretariat and PS Kohsar is a resident of tehsil Sohawa, District Jhelum.
Islamabad has always been an attraction for the well-to-do classes. Over the past years, it became a preferred destination of the criminals as well which turned the capital city rife with arms and crime. Over 150 murders in the ‘city of baboos’ in one year speak a lot about the writ of the police in the capital city. Though the crime has declined a little in year 2015 as compared to 2014, a lot of things need to be done by the law-enforcing agencies to make Islamabad a peaceful city. The ICT police recorded 155 murder cases, 31 cases of dacoity, 328 cases of robbery, 300 cases of burglary, 355 cases of general theft, 369 cases of car theft, 262 cases of motorcycle theft and 7 cases of kidnapping, making it 1768 in total as compared to 2749 total criminal cases recorded in the year 2014.
As far as murder cases are concerned, most of them take place in Islamabad’s rural areas, especially Sihala, Bhara Kahu, Tarnol, Shahzad Town, Lohi Bher and Bani Gala. Illegal arms being possessed by the criminals in these areas coupled with the presence of a large number of Afghans illegally staying in the city are main reason for poor law and order in the capital’s suburbs.
The murders are usually a result of land disputes. Police record shows a concentration of drug and arms smuggling in the suburbs of Tarnol, Golra and IJ Principal Road, the bordering areas of the city. According to the local police statistics, they recovered 146 Kalashnikovs/rifles, 122 gun/carbines, 1,168 pistols/revolvers and 15,482 rounds of ammunition in last six months of 2014 and 2015. Sectors as I-8, I-9, I-10, G-11, G-12 and Bhara Kahu are the prime target areas of the robbers and burglars while highwaymen are active at entry points to Islamabad as Sihala, Tarnol, Nilore and Koral. Nurpur Shahan, where the famous Bari Imam shrine is located, has become the centre of drug smugglers and hired assassins. Blue Area, Aabpara, F-8 Markaz and F-10 Markaz are areas where the car lifters are active.
The scale of liquor business and other contrabands in the city can be gauged from the fact that the local police recovered 32,571 bottles of liquor, 552-kg hashish, 39-kg opium and 29-kg heroin during the aforesaid period.
The law enforcers have arrested over 2,000 suspects in various search operations conducted in different areas of Islamabad but not a single gang has been touched in any of these operations.