The Frontier police have been deployed at the entry and exit gates of the Punjab Regiment Centre in Mardan to protect army personnel, as a military operation against militants is underway in Swat, Daily Times learnt on Monday. “Police have been deployed at the Punjab Regiment Centre’s gates to avoid any terrorist activity,” a police guard told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. “We have been here since last week to protect the military,” he added.The removal of army personnel and the deployment of police at the military centre have raised fears among the people of Mardan about any potential terrorist activity. “The police deployment at the military centre is of concern for everyone. I have never seen police guarding the army — the defenders of the country. Police are supposed to curb crimes and protect people, but they are guarding the army,” Muhammad Saeed, nazim of the Shamuzai union council, Mardan, said.
On November 23, a bomb explosion at a CDs market near the Punjab Regimental Centre destroyed six shops, but no casualties were reported. The army had already closed all roads used by the military and private vehicles passing through the centre following the Dargai suicide blast that killed 42 army recruits and injured several others on November 9, 2006. Earlier, light vehicles and pedestrians had been allowed to travel through the regiment centre, as it was a shortcut to several areas of the city.
The army has not only banned the entry of civilians to military mosques at the centre, but it has also restrained army personnelÂ’s visitors from visiting various military centres in the province. The Pakistan Army is currently undertaking a major operation in Swat against militants led by rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who had been advocating jihad through his pirate FM radio station until it was recently shut down.