The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Saturday that it had arrested 54 terrorists, including five agents of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), during intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted across the province over the past two months.
In a statement, CTD Spokesperson Ali Nawaz said a total of 419 intelligence-based operations were carried out in various districts of Punjab during the past two months to address terrorism threats, during which 422 suspects were questioned, and 54 terrorists belonging to various proscribed organisations were arrested.
The spokesperson revealed that those arrested “included individuals linked to India’s intelligence agency RAW”. They were identified as Waris Khan, Danish Ali, arrested in Lahore, Roz Ali Khan, Wilayat Shah and Muhammad Aziz arrested in Okara.
Read: CTD arrests 16 suspected terrorists in operations across Punjab
Nawaz said the arrests were part of operations against hostile networks and a detailed probe was currently under way.
Revealing details of the operation, the CTD spokesperson said those apprehended also included suspects affiliated with the “Fitna al-Khawarij, Daesh, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sahaba, and other proscribed organisations.”
He added that the arrests were made in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Jhelum, Sargodha, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Sahiwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Pakpattan, Bahawalpur, among other districts.
Nawaz said the operations resulted in the recovery of 7.9 kilogrammes of explosive material, 12 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 50 detonators, 98 feet of safety fuse wire, two pistols, three rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, 120 pamphlets, 72 proscribed books, 31 banned magazines, 112 stickers, two flags, one receipt book, eight mobile phones and Rs339,880 in cash.
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“In the past eight weeks, 13,572 combing operations were conducted in collaboration with the local police and other law enforcement agencies,” he said, adding that during these operations, 494,642 individuals were questioned, 1,103 were arrested, and 1,070 cases were registered against suspects and 977 recoveries of various kinds were made.
The spokesperson said Punjab CTD remained committed to its objective of “Safe Punjab” and was determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism.
He also appealed to citizens to report any information regarding terrorism or suspicious activity to the CTD helpline 0800-11111 to facilitate timely action.
