The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Monday announced it has arrested 89 terrorists in 940 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the province over the past three months.
In a statement, the CTD said it had arrested 14 terrorists from Lahore; 14 from Rawalpindi; seven each from Faisalabad and Bahawalpur; six each from Jhang and Sargodha; five from Sahiwal; four from Gujranwala; and three each from Bahawalnagar and Gujrat.
“Of the arrested terrorists, 55 belong to Fitna al Khawarij [banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], five are from ISIS [Islamic State], and two each are from Al Qaeda, Hizbut Tahrir and Jeay Sindh,” it added.
The CTD said it had seized 20.2kg of explosive materials during its raids; 85 detonators; 183 feet of safety-fuse wire; 717 pamphlets of a banned organization; several magazines, detonating cords, mobile phones and cash. It said criminal cases had been registered against 87 suspects and investigations were underway in all cases.
“The arrested individuals had been planning attacks on important buildings in several cities,” it said. “CTD Punjab remains vigilant and committed to the ‘Safe Punjab’ objective. We will spare no effort to bring terrorists and anti-state elements to justice,” it added.
“In related security activity during the current week, local police and security agencies carried out 13,521 combing operations, checked 552,692 people, arrested 1,131 suspicious persons, registered 1,061 FIRs and achieved 906 recoveries,” it said.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of a terror resurgence, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Security agencies have launched targeted IBOs in the provinces, while the provincial CTDs of Punjab and Sindh are regularly engaged in operations to prevent and investigate terrorism-related activities and gather intelligence.