Major terror bid foiled in Pakistan’s Punjab province; 14 TTP, ISI terrorists arrested

Lahore, Dec 2 (PTI) Counter-terrorism police in Pakistan on Saturday claimed to have foiled a major terror plot to target key installations in the Punjab province by arresting 14 suspected terrorists from different banned terror groups, including the ISI and TTP.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab said it conducted 147 intelligence-based operations in different districts of the province in which 14 alleged terrorists were arrested with weapons, explosives and other prohibited materials.

“The Punjab province has foiled a major terror plot by arresting 14 suspected terrorists linked with the banned outfits during operations in different areas of Punjab,” a CTD spokesperson said in a statement issued here.

The arrests were made during intelligence-based operations in Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Sargodha and Lahore cities, he said.

Most of the terrorists belong to the banned organisations — Daesh (ISIS) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — while the others had links with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) terror group.

The CTD spokesman said that the terrorists had planned sabotage across the province and wanted to target important installations.

Around 4.3 kg of explosives, three hand grenades, four IED bombs, 20 detonators, 32 feet of safety fuse wire, 6.5 feet prima card, banned literature and cash amount were recovered from the possession of the terrorists, he said.

The police have registered 13 cases against the terrorists and shifted them to an undisclosed location for further investigation, according to the statement.