ISLAMABAD: The station house officer (SHO) and administration officer of Shalimar police station were suspended for not returning the belongings of Afghan ‘illegal’ immigrants.

Police sources said during an operation against ‘illegal’ immigrants in the capital, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) with the assistance of Shalimar police arrested 20 Afghans after they failed to produce valid documents on Wednesday.

After the arrest, the Afghans were shifted to Shalimar police station and their custody was given to the staff of the police station for further legal procedure, the sources said, adding that the police also confiscated their belongings, which included purses, cash and mobile phones before sending them behind bars.

Later the CTD team reached the police station to shift the detained Afghans to the holding centre set up in I-14 for their transportation to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the sources said, adding that the Afghans demanded their belongings when the CTD team was about to shift them to the holding centre, but the officials paid no heed to their demand.

Later the detained persons were shifted to the holding centre without their belongings where they also complained about the matter, the sources said, adding that somehow the issue got viral on social media and caught the attention of the high-ups who inquired about the matter from senior police officers.

In response, the police high-ups immediately suspended the SHO and the administration officer.

A police spokesman confirmed that the two officials had been suspended and a departmental inquiry was ordered against them.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2023