SAHIWAL:Special judge of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday awarded a total 31-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) to a terrorist belonging to the banned outfit Al-Qaeda.

The convict, Khizer, a resident of a seminary, Ashraf Ul Aloom, Mohalla Habibabad, Shujaabad, Multan district, was arrested in a sting operation by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) from Dahrain Bridge, Okara, on February 16, 2025.

During the operation, the CTD teams also recovered 1,725 grams of explosive material, primacards, an iron box, wires, electronic devices, detonators and other components used in making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The CTD officials also recovered a live explosive device which was defused by Okara Bomb Disposal Squad.

The convict was booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Act, 1908, on the complaint of Waseem Akhter, a CTD official. terrorist held: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested a suspected terrorist allegedly belonging to a banned Sipha Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), from Baba Farid Chowk, Sahiwal Road, Pakpattan, on Wednesday night.

As per CTD officials, the suspect, identified as Azam Tariq, a resident of Hatiyain Kartarpur village in Pakpattan district, was arrested while distributing sectarian literature, including books and pamphlets.

The CTD also recovered 15 copies of a banned booklet, pamphlets, leaflets, memory cards and three book parcels from the suspect.

It said that the recovered booklet was banned by the Punjab government in its notification dated June 25, 2014.

The suspect was later booked under sections 11-F (2), 11-W (2), and 9 of the ATA, 1996 on the compliant of Waseem Akhter, an official of Pakpattan CTD.

He was later produced before Anti-Terrorism Court special judge, who granted a four day physical remand and handed him over to the Sahiwal CTD police.

The court ordered the CTD to produce the suspect again on July 6.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026