Lahore: Four more death-row convicts were executed on Sunday in Pakistan for their involvement in a terror attack on former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. The executions came on the heels of lifting of a moratorium on the death penalty following last week’s deadly attack on a Peshawar school.
Two more prisoners were hanged in the same jail two days earlier.
Preparations were also underway in Lahore for the execution of four death row prisoners in Kot Lakhpat Central Jail. The executions are expected to be carried out in the next 24-36 hours. All routes leading to the jail have been sealed and cell phone jammers installed around the jail premises.
Sajjad Hussain reports from Islamabad: Pakistan’s security forces have also arrested more than 300 terror suspects, including foreigners, in a crackdown against militants in Islamabad. Six teams of sniffer dogs, armed personnel carriers, bomb disposal squads and commandos participated in the operations in the capital. ‘‘These were intelligence-based operations conducted in view of the fresh threats from militants after the execution of two convicted terrorists,” a police official said. Afghan refugee settlements, bus terminals and under- construction buildings were also searched for terrorists.
There is intelligence input about another impending attack on an educational institution, forcing the authorities to close all school and colleges in the Capital from Monday. Another alert related to a military installation and stated that militants wearing army fatigues may attack the facility from the Margalla Hills side. Another alert was issued to foreign missions and diplomats. The police have started air surveillance of the sensitive installation which was under threat. A sky-cam of the district administration was being utilised to keep an eye on the routes the terrorists might use to reach the installation.
A proposal is being drafted for immediate release of funds from the government to purchase sky cams for the surveillance of the sensitive Diplomatic Enclave and its surrounding areas.
