The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Saturday it had killed five terrorists and successfully thwarted a terror plot in Taunsa Sharif in a “major counter-terrorism breakthrough”.

There has been a recent uptick in terror attacks in Pakistan over the past year. The CTD regularly carries out operations to prevent and investigate terrorism-related activities and gather intelligence.

A press release issued today by the CTD said that an intelligence-based operation took place near the Tri-Border Village.

According to a CTD spokesperson, the operation was launched following “credible intelligence reports” about the presence of alleged armed terrorists in the area. Although the operation aimed to apprehend them, they opened fire on the CTD team, leading to a retaliatory crossfire.

The press release detailed that the exchange of heavy fire continued for several hours, during which five terrorists were eliminated, while five others sustained injuries and escaped into the nearby forest.

“The CTD teams acted swiftly and professionally, preventing what could have been a catastrophic attack,” the statement added.

During the combing operation, the team recovered a cache of lethal weapons including rifles, three improvised explosive devices, a large quantity of ammunition, hand grenades and explosive material.

The statement highlighted that these recoveries underscored the severity of the threat and the scale of the planned attack.

It added that a search operation was currently underway to trace and apprehend the wounded terrorists who fled the scene. The press release said CTD teams established checkpoints near Romani, Taunsa, to secure the region and prevent further escape and the identification process of the deceased terrorists was ongoing.

It said four bodies were handed over to the hospital for legal formalities, while one was taken from the scene by the accomplices.

The CTD has been “continuously operating against the terrorists attacking police posts in the tri-border area of Dera Ghazi Khan”, the statement added.

A statement from Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the CTD for its operation and said the terrorists were from the Fitna al Hindustan.

The government has designated all terrorist organisations in Balochistan as Fitna al Hindu­stan. The term ‘Fitna al Hindu­stan’ is a new phrase coined by Pakistan’s military, aimed at framing India’s alleged role in terrorism as a deliberate destabilisation strategy, potentially to galvanise domestic support.

In May, the Punjab CTD said it foiled a “major terror plot” by arresting 34 alleged terrorists of banned organisations during 415 intelligence-based operations across the province.

The previous month, it arrested 10 terrorists belonging to banned organisations during 189 operations in different areas of Punjab.

CTD says terrorist killed in Bahawalpur

Separately, the Punjab CTD said it and the police conducted a joint operation in Bahawalpur and killed a terrorist belonging to Fitna al Hindustan.

The CTD said in a statement that the operation was carried out to arrest a “highly wanted terrorist”, responding immediately to information about him.

“During the operation, one terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire while his three accomplices managed to escape,” the statement read.

It added, “The timely action of the CTD averted a major tragedy.”

According to a CTD spokesperson, the team recovered a large quantity of ammunition, hand grenades and sensitive material from the terrorists, which they planned to use for a major sabotage operation.

“The CTD registered a case on terrorism charges, murder and possession of explosives,” the statement said.

It further said that raids were being conducted to track down the escaped terrorists, adding that further investigation was underway.