QUETTA: As many as 11 children allegedly involved in Meezan Chowk blast and other subversive acts in the provincial capital were arrested during a raid conducted on late Tuesday night.
A successful raid was carried out in the city area which led to the arrest of eleven children, between the ages of 10 to 17, however seven others who had hired those children managed to flee, police chief Mir Zubair Mahmood said while presenting the children at a news conference in Quetta.
He said that the arrested children had confessed to being involved in several subversive activities including the bomb blast at Meezan chowk, which claimed several lives in January.
A Baloch militant organisation had lured the children, who came from poor families, to leave packages containing home-made bombs in markets, dustbins and on routes used by police and security forces, Mahmood said.
Mahmood said the militants chose the youngsters knowing that police would not suspect small children or garbage collectors.
"Some of the children said they did not know what the packets contained and what they were doing," he said.
"It is a matter of great concern that proscribed outfits were employing innocent and poor children for their nefarious designs," Mahmood deplored.
Referring to initial investigation in the case, he said that the detained individuals were being paid Rs2,000 to 5,000 for a single act.
To a question, CCPO said that in order to improve the law and order situation in Quetta, Rs500 million had already been earmarked for the installation of CCTV cameras and other equipment for technical surveillance and work on the project would start soon.
He said that as part of a new security plan over 1000 people were being recruited in the police department to strengthen the police force.
“A special team has been constituted to recover the missing former PMA Sultan Tareen”, CCPO replied to yet another question.
“Police have a clue to the perpetrators of Alamdar and Kirani Road blasts.”, CCPO added.
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