Pak police thwart major terror plot in Punjab province, arrest 13 terrorists

Lahore, Aug 19 (PTI) Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies on Saturday claimed to have averted a major terror plot by arresting 13 terrorists, including three ISIS commanders, who were planning to target important installations across the Punjab province.

The militants were arrested from Lahore, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Rawalpindi, Chiniot, Kasur and Multan during the last couple of days, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police said in a statement.

“The arrested terrorists had planned to target important installations across the province,” it said.

With the arrest, law enforcement agencies foiled a “major terror plot” in the Punjab province, it said.

The arrested terrorists belong to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Daesh (ISIS), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Al-Qaeda.

Some 2,360 grams of explosives, one IED bomb, 11 detonators, pistols and bullets and banned literature have been recovered from them, the statement said.

Last week, the CTD arrested 21 terrorists in Punjab.

Hundreds of terrorists of TTP and ISIS have been nabbed this year after the truce between the Pakistan government and TTP ended in November last year.

The attacks on security forces have seen a rise in the country after the truce ended.