LAHORE: Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested six alleged militants of banned outfits during operations in different areas of the province.

According to a spokesman, the Punjab CTD conducted 55 intelligence based operations (IBOs) in different districts of the province to effectively deal with any incident of terrorism, interrogating 50 suspects and arresting six alleged militants with weapons, explosives and other prohibited materials.

He says those arrested include three members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), identified as Liaquatullah, Nadeem Khan and Inayatullah, besides a member of the banned Sipah Sahaba Pakistan, Muhammad Younis, a member of Islamic State militant group (Daesh), Muhammad Ammar and a member of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Ijaz Ahmed.

The spokesman says that 1,358 grams of explosives, one hand grenade, 6.53 feet Prima Card, one laptop, 82 pamphlets, 45 stickers, two flags, six receipt books and Rs18,800 in cash were recovered from the the suspected militants.

He says the militants planned sabotage across the province and wanted to target important government installations and religious places.

The police have registered six cases against the arrested suspects in Multan, Gujranwala and Dera Ghazi Khan and shifted them to an unknown location, he adds.

The spokesman says that 227 combing operations were also conducted during this week with the help of local police and security agencies, checking 11,694 persons, and arresting 24 suspects.

He says 23 FIRs were registered against these suspects and 16 items were recovered from them.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023