LAHORE: The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested nine members of different banned organisations, including a member of a hostile foreign intelligence agency (Indian Research and Analysis Wing-RAW) in 38 Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs), launched across the province during the last week.

A spokesperson for the CTD says the IBOs were carried out across Punjab to avert any untoward incident and during these operations an alleged member of Indian prime intelligence agency RAW, Naveed Akhtar, was arrested from Lahore, declaring it a major achievement.

He was involved in two major terrorist attacks carried out in Johar Town and Anarkali, adding the CTD was interrogating him.

Similarly, the teams also arrested two other suspects – Rasool Khan and Ibrahim Khan – for possessing explosives.

During the operations, he said, the CTD took into custody 40 suspects for interrogation and of them, nine were formally arrested as they allegedly belonged to various banned militant organisations.

They were identified as Riaz, Syed Taqiul Hasnain, Asad Abbas (of banned Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan), Sadam Hussain, Abdi Ullah Khan, Arshad (of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), Jameelur Rehman of Al-Qaida and Khalid Mehmood of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The CTD teams recovered from them 5kg explosive, 40 detonators, 30ft safety fuse, five hand grenades, a pistol (9mm) with six bullets, cash amount of Rs82,240 and a jeep.

The CTD Punjab lodged seven first information reports (FIRs) against the suspects at various police stations of the province, the spokesperson said.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2022