Pakistan: CTD arrests nine suspects linked with banned outfits

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 30 (ANI): The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab has arrested nine suspects associated with inoperative organisations across various parts of the province, Dawn reported.

The spokesperson of CTD said that the arrests were made during the Intelligence Based Organisations (IBOs) which were conducted by different teams of the department. A total of 35 IBOs were carried out in different districts of Punjab which led to the questioning of 36 suspects.

Dawn is one of the mainstream media houses of Pakistan that reports on national and international issues related to Pakistan.

Out of all the interrogated people, nine suspects were arrested from multiple banned outfits. These suspects are identified as Adnan Yousaf and Mohammad Luqman from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan; Abdul Haleem and Salman Iftikhar from the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi; and Sheraz Alam, Abdaho Shah, Bilqees Bibi (Shah’s wife), Shahid Ahmad, and Muhammad Umar bin Khalid from the banned Daesh, according to Dawn.

The CTD has registered five First Information Reports (FIR) against these suspects in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Bahawalpur. The department also found four hand grenades, three prima cards, 42 bullets of a 30-bore pistol, a laptop, Afghani currency, and flags and stickers associated with the defunct organizations.

Furthermore, the CTD collaborated with the local police and other law enforcement agencies and has conducted 124 combing operations. During these operations, 5,814 people were checked, resulting in the arrest of 11 suspects, reported Dawn.

Moreover, 14 FIRs were registered, as well as, additional recoveries were made.

Two weeks ago, the security forces in the Dara Adam Khel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Zafar Khan along with his two group members during an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) on Sunday, according to Geo News.

He was also a former member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and was involved in 26 grenade attacks in Pakistan. Moreover, he was also involved in dozens of terrorist attacks against security forces, coal contractors, businessmen and influential people.

He had received more than Rs 100 million in extortion and kidnapping for ransom, as per Geo News.

The other terrorist, Hasan Khan, was an expert in sniping and grenade attacks and remained a part of TTA from 2019 to 2021. He joined the Tariq Gidar group in 2022.