LAHORE: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Saturday to have arrested nine alleged terrorists of banned outfits during operations in different areas of the province.

According to the spokesman, the Punjab CTD conducted 46 intelligence-based operations in different districts of the province to effectively deal with any untoward incident of terrorism, in which 47 suspected persons were interrogated and nine alleged terrorists were arrested with weapons, explosives and other prohibited materials.

The arrested terrorists include six members of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Atiq Ahmed, Rashid Khan, Muhammad Riaz, Muhammad Siddique Khan, Muhammad Shoaib and Zahid Khan; two members of al-Qaeda Muhammad Raheeq and Kashif Usmani; and one member of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi Maqsood Ahmed.

The spokesman said 1.328kg of explosives, 10 detonators, 17 feet of protective fuse wire, six prohibited books, 11 prohibited magazines, 56 pamphlets of the banned organisation, 100 stickers, five receipt boxes and Rs41,170 in cash had been recovered from the possession of these terrorists.

He said the terrorists wanted to target important installations and other religious places across the province.

The police have registered nine cases against the arrested terrorists in Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Multan, Gujranwala and Bahawalpur and shifted them to an unknown location, he said.

The spokesman said 284 combing operations were conducted during this week with the help of local police and security agencies, 13,949 people were checked, 56 suspects were arrested, 32 FIRs were registered and 17 recoveries were made.

The Counter Terrorism Department was diligently pursuing its goal of a safe Punjab and no stone would be left unturned in its efforts to bring terrorists and anti-state elements behind bars, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2023