CTD Punjab detains 12 TTP, Al-Qaeda terrorists

The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has detained 12 accused terrorists who are members of the outlawed organizations Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al-Qaeda, according to a statement made on Friday.

A “covert operation” from three province-wide cities including Lahore where three terrorists were apprehended “nearby a critical region” was also mentioned in the statement. The terrorist network “intended to conduct disruptive acts in critical regions,” the CTD official claimed.

The statement further stated that materials for suicide vests and explosives were found on the suspected terrorists. The CTD reported that they were located while questioning 61 suspects. Inquiries had been launched following the filing of a complaint against them, it added.

According to the CTD, 797 combing operations were carried out this week, leading to the arrest of 159 individuals. No effort would be spared, according to the CTD, in putting a stop to terrorist elements.

Terrorist organizations have been carrying out assaults across the nation with almost complete impunity in recent months, which has exacerbated the law and order situation overall and particularly in KP and Balochistan.

The terrorist organization has ramped up its assaults after the November breakdown of negotiations with the TTP, focusing in particular on the police in KP and the regions bordering Afghanistan. Balochistan’s insurgents have also increased their violent activity and formally connected with the TTP, an illegal organization.

An attack by the proscribed TTP on Karachi Police Headquarters was the most high-profile strike in the month of February. A month before that, a huge suicide bombing in a mosque near Peshawar Police Lines killed 84 people and wounded many more.

According to a research recently published by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), terrorist assaults increased in February of this year, but fewer people were killed as a consequence than in January.

According to the report, there were four reported militant assaults in Punjab that resulted in two fatalities and eight injuries, while there were three reported militant strikes in Sindh that resulted in 10 fatalities and 18 injuries.