World News | Pakistan police arrest 5 TTP terrorists from Punjab

Lahore, January 7 (PTI) — Pakistani police on Saturday arrested five terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistani group in an intelligence operation in Punjab province.

The terrorists were arrested in Lahore, Ocala, Mandi Bajaldin, Faisalabad and Laiya districts of Punjab, according to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police.

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“Explosive materials, suicide vests, weapons and prohibited literature have been recovered from the captured terrorists,” the CTD said in a statement.

However, it did not mention in its statement any direct link between the captured terrorist and the killers of two officers of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

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On 3 January, ISI Multan Regional Director Naveed Sadiq and Inspector Nasir Abbas were allegedly shot dead by their TTP ‘source’ (suspected killer) Umar Khan in Khanewal, about 375 km from Lahore.

It is standard practice for intelligence officials to cultivate sources in terrorist networks to thwart their terrorist plans. Two ISI officers are working to take down a terror network in southern Punjab.

The outlawed Pakistani Taliban Movement (TTP) and Al Qaeda affiliate Lashkar-e-Khorasan were responsible for the attack.

CTD and intelligence agencies stepped up operations in Punjab after two officers were killed.

Prime Minister Sheikh Baz Sharif expressed his condolences on the passing of the ISI Director. The Prime Minister pledged to eliminate the threat of terrorism in the country.

The TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, was formed in 2007 as an umbrella group for several militant groups. Its main purpose is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan.

TTP has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on an army headquarters in 2009, an attack on a military base and the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad in 2008.

Last month, Pakistan Army commandos killed 25 Taliban militants in an operation to free anti-terror police who had been held hostage for three days at the CTD compound in Bannu Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)