Pak police arrest 5 TTP terrorists from Punjab

Five terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan outfit have been arrested by the Pakistan police on Saturday.

Lahore: Pakistani police arrested five terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan outfit during intelligence-based operations from Punjab province on Saturday. According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police, the terrorists were arrested in Lahore, Okara, Mandi Bahauldin, Faisalabad and Layyah districts of Punjab.

Explosive material, suicide vests, weapons and banned literature have been recovered from the possession of the arrested terrorists, the CTD said in a statement. It, however, did not mention in the statement that the arrested terrorists have any direct link with the killers of two officials of Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

On January 3, ISI Multan region Director Naveed Sadiq and Inspector Nasir Abbas were allegedly shot dead by their TTP source (suspected killer) Umar Khan in Khanewal, about 375 kilometres from Lahore. It is standard practice for intelligence officials to cultivate sources among terrorist networks to thwart their terror plans. Both ISI officers were working to bust a terror network in south Punjab.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Lashkar-e-Khorasan, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, took responsibility for the attack. The CTD and intelligence agencies have intensified their operations in Punjab after the killing of two officers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condoled the death of the ISI Director. The premier pledged to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.

The TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan. The TTP has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

Last month, the Pakistan Army commandos killed 25 Taliban militants during an operation to free anti-terrorism police officers who were held hostage inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's CTD compound in Bannu for three days. (PTI)