The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab carried out 425 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across various cities of the province during the past month, resulting in the arrest of 49 suspected militants, officials said.
According to a CTD spokesperson, the operations were conducted on the basis of intelligence reports in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad, Chakwal, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Chiniot, Pakpattan, Khushab, Narowal, Sialkot, Attock and Vehari.
The spokesperson said a suspected agent of India’s intelligence agency, RAW, was arrested from Lahore. The suspect, identified as Mujtaba, was allegedly found in possession of explosive material, weapons and maps of sensitive buildings.
During the operations, CTD recovered explosives, hand grenades, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), six detonators, 36 safety fuse wires, pamphlets measuring 38 feet in length, cash and a Prima card, the department said.
The arrested suspects were identified as Shaukat Naveed, Abdul Rehman, Amjad Khan, Muhammad Shahid, Muhammad Abrar, Danish Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Jameel Rehman, Ehsanullah, Nadir, Waqas, Hasnain, Farooq, Jamshed and Aulaad Khan, among others.
CTD officials said the suspects were planning attacks at different locations to spread fear and panic among the public.
Separately, the spokesperson said CTD conducted 6,131 combing operations across Punjab during the same period. As a result, 599 suspected individuals were arrested, while 243,546 people were questioned during search and verification drives.
