Chief Justice's security tightened after hints of RAW planning to target him

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Shakeel Anjum
ISLAMABAD: A plan to target Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been detected by Pakistani agencies, officials have said.

“Our agencies have intercepted a RAW plan to hit Rawalpindi and Islamabad by using terrorist elements within Pakistan,” an official revealed, adding all the concerned had been warned of a series of terrorist attacks.

An intelligence report shared with this correspondent by an Interior Ministry official reveals that the life of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is in danger as the RAW wants to target him to cause anarchy in Pakistan.

However, the inspector general of the Islamabad Police and the additional IG Rawalpindi believe that they would successfully counter such acts of terrorism.

IGP Islamabad Syed Kalb-e-Abbas, when contacted for comments, confirmed the threats and said that rigorous security measures had been taken to secure the Diplomatic Enclave, military installations and other sensitive buildings.

The IGP, however, referred this correspondent to the SSP (CID), saying that he may tell this scribe about the security plan to prevent such acts of terrorism. Additional IG Rawalpindi Nasir Khan Durrani said that the Rawalpindi Region police had started ground checking people who had been associated with terrorist outfits in the past. ìWe are concentrating especially on spontaneous checking in different localities of the city and its outskirts.î

SSP (CID) and AIG (Special Branch) Moeen Masood, when contacted, said: ìWe take every specific and non-specific threat seriously and maintain high state of alertness.î He added the law-enforcing agencies were doing everything possible to counter such acts of terrorism.

At least 20 Uzbek terrorists, who have already reportedly reached Islamabad, would play a key role in this operation, the sources revealed. They are divided in groups and each group has been assigned a different attack plan.

The terrorists may try to capture important buildings like the Pak Secretariat blocks, TV stations, police training centres and foreign chains of schools, the Interior Ministry source, quoting a sensitive intelligence report, disclosed.

ìThis time, the attacks could be conducted at four or five places simultaneously in various areas of the twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad,î the report foresaw. ìVigilance is required to counter and curb attacks or terrorist acts planned by the extremists,î added the report.

The report said that Baitullah Mehsud had designed a plan of terrorist attacks, adding three teams of Fata-based terrorists had been sent besides teams from Makeen (Swat). A team of seven terrorists (shooters or facilitators) has reached the surrounding areas of Islamabad, the secret report said, revealing their identification as Noorullah, Gul Khan, Khawasaw Khan, Rehmanullah, Abdul Razzaq, Masoom and Mehmood-ur-Rehman. ìThey are likely to stay at Taxila, Wah Cantt, Attock or Murree,î the sources, quoting the report, said. He said all of them belonged to the tribal areas.

A terrorist identified as Mehmood (an associate of Baitullah Mehsud), hailing from Loralai, has moved to Islamabad to complete the task assigned by Baitullah Mehsud, the sources disclosed.

On the other hand, Baitullah Mehsud has deputed 20 Uzbek nationals for terrorist activities in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore, the sources revealed and added that Mehsud had given tasks of terrorist activities to two groups other than the above three groups.

A group has been sent to Rawalpindi and Islamabad, they said, which has left Barwand (Swat) for Bannu via Mir Ali (North Waziristan) from where they would move onward to Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Whereas the other groups of terrorists had left for Lahore from Barwand (Swat) through Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Gomal Zam and Tormandi. They reached Lahore after a night stay in DI Khan.

The government has finalised a counter strategy after putting the law-enforcing agencies on high alert, the source said, adding that sensitive areas such as the Cantonment areas, Army, Naval and Air Force installations, police headquarters as well as offices of police chiefs, offices of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and the FIA had been put on the list of ëhighly sensitive areasí and extraordinary security measures had been adopted in these red zones, the source said.

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