After the National Security Conference (NCS) recently approved launching a drive to root out terrorism in the country, it wasn’t clear as to what strategy the Punjab had devised in this regard. Also, since the caretaker government is locked in a tug-of-war with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), and the Punjab Police is focused on a large-scale operation in the kutcha area of Ranjanpur, to purge it of anti-social and criminal elements, there is little or no public information available on how the law and order agencies in the province plan to check the increasing crime rate in Lahore, for instance.

In an exclusive chat with TNS, Inspector General of Punjab Police Dr Usman Anwar talks about plans, the modus operandi and the morale of the provincial police in carrying out what he describes as a huge task. Excerpts:

The News on Sunday: A vigorous drive against terrorists has been announced by the government. What role do you see for the Punjab Police in it?

Dr Usman Anwar: Punjab Police is always there when its services are sought in dealing with terrorism and/ or anti-social elements. It was decided in the presence of the Chief Minister [Mohsin Naqvi] that the Punjab Police would help the KPK and Sindh police in counter-terrorism operations by providing them expertise, training and manpower. We are also helping set the Safe City projects. Most of all, intelligence sharing by various agencies, including the Inter Services Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau, will be ensured. Besides, Pakistan Army will provide assistance to law-enforcement agencies against saboteurs, whenever the need arises. In this connection, six armoured personnel carriers have already been provided by the Army to the Punjab Police for the operation in the kutcha area.

TNS: The law enforcement agencies seem to be the prime target of the terrorists. Comment.

UA: That’s a harsh fact. In Lahore alone, there have been a number of incidents in which the police were targeted. Other than the Manwan centre, some 15 police emergency call centres came under attack in isolated incidents. DIG Capt Mobin and a host of policemen embraced martyrdom in two terrorist attacks on The Mall.

So far, the Punjab Police has carried out as many as 600 operations in collaboration with other departments. Of these, 300 operations were carried out in collaboration with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). Four suspects were killed and 88 others arrested.

TNS: What is your strategy going to be with regard to hunting down the terrorists?

UA: We’ve started intelligence-based combing operations across the province, particularly in Lahore, to weed out the terrorists. Our strategy is acronymed HITS, which means hunt them, impede their attacks by target-hardening, thwart them with advance information and intelligence sharing; and serve the people.

“We’ve started intelligence-based combing operations across the province, particularly in Lahore, to weed out the terrorists. Our strategy is acronymed HITS, which means hunt them, impede their attacks by target-hardening, thwart them with advance information and intelligence sharing; and serve the people.”

TNS: Do you have a specific plan for Lahore, especially to stem the increasing street crime in the city?

UA: Yes, of course. The provincial metropolis has always been a priority. A number of resources have been diverted to the city to bring a visible change in the performance of the Operations and Investigation wings of the Lahore police. I am personally monitoring the situation on a day-to-day basis. We’ve ensured unhindered registration of FIRs in the city. Perhaps, that’s why there is this general impression that the rate of street crime is on the rise.

TNS: Are you trying to say that the actual situation is not that bad?

UA: Yes, that’s right.

TNS: Unlike your predecessors, you chose to lead the operation in kutcha area from the front. What made you do so?

UA: It would’ve been quite easy for me to sit in my office and remotely monitor things, but I opted for the harder path because I didn’t want any exit for myself.

TNS: It has been observed that the criminals hiding in kutcha area are heavily armed. They’ve even attacked the police with rocket launchers. Is the police force adequately equipped for the combat?

UA: Well, the Punjab Police is equipped with the latest weapons and machinery. On top of that, the level of commitment displayed by the [police] force is exemplary.

No doubt several attacks on police were launched with rockets, but we thwarted them effectively with the help of the APCs we got from the Army. A number of dacoits have been killed in the police operation and a number of them have been apprehended. They are on the run now.

TNS: Can you give us a specific time-frame for the kutcha operation?

UA: I can’t. The operation will continue for now. We want to cleanse the area of all anti-state elements. Soon we are going to set up a chowki in the area.

TNS: How will you rate the performance of the Punjab Police?

UA: It’s very simple: the figures speak for themselves. As many as 27,000 proclaimed offenders were apprehended over the last three months [by the Punjab Police]. Of these, 4,242 were involved in heinous crimes.

So far, in an operation that was launched on January 24 this year, 33 hardened criminals have been nabbed and repatriated with the help of Interpol from the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Greece. The police have also busted 1,240 gangs of robbers and recovered goods worth Rs 900 million. 152 cars and 2,162 motorcycles were also recovered from them.

TNS: Why hasn’t the Police Department set up housing societies and hospitals to facilitate its employees?

UA: In the past, some officers tried to do just that that but their integrity was called into question. Some of them were removed from their posts.

Basically, police officers need the consistency of tenure. We have a number of senior police officers who enjoy a good reputation. I would request the general public to never doubt or question their honesty. In return, they will accomplish tough tasks in less than a year’s time.

The writer is a senior journalist