Rawalpindi: Mohallah committees to check terror threats

[Naveed Yaseen]

* MPAs will head bodies
* Special training sessions will be held at selected police stations in the last week of July

Staff Report

RAWALPINDI: Mohallah committees, to be constituted at all wards and villages of Rawalpindi, will work under the supervision of respective member of provincial assembly (MPA) to maintain a close liaison with the local police.

A high-level meeting, held on Thursday at office of the regional police officer (RPO) to work out counter terrorism measures, took this decision.

All MPAs and police officers from Rawalpindi district attended the meeting.

According to the meeting minutes, the committees will be tasked with collecting and verifying the particulars of all tenants and submitting compliance reports to the nearby police station for further vetting.

The mohallah bodies will activate other committees established at local masjid and madarassah level. They will also stay vigilant against persons involved in suspicious activities and inform the police about them.

The committees will ensure implementation of code of ethics finalised with them and discourage misuse of loudspeaker and delivery of provocative speeches by prayer leaders. Moreover, coordinators will compile the record of all proceedings disposed of by the committees.

Training: Special sessions will be held at selected police stations in the last week of July to train the committees. The MPA, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) and station house officer (SHO) of the area will also attend the sessions, wherein the committees will be taught how to accomplish an assignment.

Meanwhile, RPO Nasir Khan Durrani directed the police to put the names of wanted persons and militants on 4th schedule so as to help the committees carry out surveillance in their respective jurisdictions.

Raja Fayyaz Sarwar, Col ® Shabbir Awan, Raja Tariq Mehmood Kiani, Shaukat Aziz, Raja Qamarul Islam, Umar Farooq, Malik Iftikhar Hussain, Yasir Raza Malik and Advocate Raja Muhammad Hanif Abbasi also attended the meeting.

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