PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Monday visited different parts of Hayatabad and surrounding areas without proper security, a day after a video of militants went viral in which they threatened attacks on the posh township.
The chief minister came out of his vehicle and met people on the streets in Hayatabad and on Ring Road.A number of people took photos with the chief minister, who also had a sugarcane drink from a vendor.
The apparent purpose of the visit was to show that Peshawar is safe and that those armed men who make videos only appear for a few seconds before escaping.A video of a group of armed militants claiming their presence in the provincial capital had earlier set alarm bells ringing on Sunday.
Armed men were seen in a video that went viral on social media, reportedly recorded somewhere on Ring Road near Hayatabad. The armed men in the video said they would attack Hayatabad to avenge operations in Khyber.
The video sent shockwaves among residents of Hayatabad and other parts of Peshawar, raising concerns over the developing situation.An official of the Peshawar Police said the Counter Terrorism Department had lodged a case. He said the area shown in the video falls under the jurisdiction of Sarband Police Station, close to Hayatabad.
Another video had gone viral on social media a few days earlier in which armed men set up a cordon on a road in Khyber, close to Peshawar.Police and security forces conducted several operations in different areas of Peshawar, including Hassankhel, following the presence of armed groups.The militants opened fire on senior police officials during one operation in Hassankhel, but the officers remained unharmed.
