CTD arrests 18 terrorists in operations across Punjab

LAHORE: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) stated on Saturday that various operations carried out across Punjab resulted in the arrest of 18 terrorists.

“The terrorists aimed to spread fear and panic among the public by carrying out actions at various locations,” A CTD official stated. A CTD spokesperson said that terrorism will be eliminated from the grass-roots level, adding that the they are taking all possible measures to streangthen security in the region.

145 intelligence-based operations were conducted in Lahore, Kushab, Gujranwala, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, and Rawalpindi, along with Faislabad, Shekhupura, Mandi Bahauddin, and Mianwali.

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A CTD spokesperson stated that three foreign terrorists were arrested in Lahore, Fasialabad, and Rawalpindi. Among their possessions were weapons, explosives, detonators, security fuse wire, ammunition, a bomb, and maps of sensitive locations.

The three were members of Fitna al-Khawarij, the rebranded name of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Local news reported that other arrested terrorists were identified as Faiz, Azeem, Tariq, Asif, Irfan, Ehsan, Fatah, Waleed Ahemed, Asadur Rehman, and Ziaul Haq.

A further 2716 combing operations are being conducted in various areas and 278 suspicious people were taken into custody, according to local news.

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The initiatives being taken by the CTD are in line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vow to eliminate terrorism in the country, something he expressed to the international community at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.