The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Islamabad Police has launched searches in the slums for the perpetrators of the violence that shook Pakistan in early May, Pakistani media reported on Friday.
The CTD's hunt to arrest the arsonists behind the ransacking of police installations and other public institutions comes at a time when the Shehbaz Sharif government has intensified its crackdown on the Imran Khan-led political outfit, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The CTD's operation was backed by intelligence reports that said that terrorists, a term used by the government to describe the people behind the vandalism post-Khan's arrest, were hiding in the slums of Islamabad and the law enforcers were tasked with destroying the hideouts of the vandals.
Besides using electronic surveillance to trace down all those involved in the violent attacks on security personnel and related installations, the CTD has also been allowed to conduct "door-to-door" searches in the shanties of Islamabad.
According to media reports, at least six teams of the CTD are conducting searches across various locations in the slums of Islamabad.
In addition to looking out for the culprits of the violence, the CTD's officials have been asked to maintain and update the information of the teachers, students, and religious scholars who were previously involved in delivering speeches against state authorities.
In another development, the Pakistan police couldn't identify several people behind the violence despite their best efforts, suggesting they were not Pakistanis, media outlet Dawn reported citing sources.
The CTD's operation in the slum areas of Islamabad is expected to last a few more days.
Pakistan Protesters Could Be Tried in Military Courts
Khan's PTI has been feeling the government heat since violent protests rocked Pakistan for four consecutive days after his arrest in Islamabad on May 9.
Thousands of workers and senior politicians belonging to his party have been rounded up by security agencies, with the government vowing to try them in military courts.
In a recent interview, Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif defended the government's move to impose military laws against the civilians who took part in torching and damaging public and private property.
"They planned it. It was not spontaneous. You must understand the gravity of the offense, the gravity of events which took place," Asif said." "There is going to be absolute transparency in these cases. There are three layers of appeals that go through the army chief, the high court and then the Supreme Court."