A commander of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was arrested while attempting to fly out of the country at Peshawar's Bacha Khan International Airport, an immigration official said.

Maulvi Bahadur Jan, who was wanted by the police in several cases of terrorism, was taken into custody before he was able to board a private airline's flight to Dubai on Sunday evening, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) airport director Tariq Pervaiz told DawnNewsTV.

According to the official, although the suspected militant had tried to change his appearance, he was arrested after immigration officials scrutinised his travel documents.

The interior ministry had added Maulvi Bahadur's name to the Exit Control List on a request of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), he added.

The suspected TTP commander hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district and is suspected of involvement in several incidents of terrorism.

Earlier this month, the CTD had claimed to have arrested an ‘important commander’ of TTP's Buner chapter who was allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and generating funds for terrorist activities.

According to CTD officials, the TTP suspect who was arrested from Karachi had "confessed" to his involvement in several acts of terrorism during an initial probe.

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