Six terrorists linked to banned outfit killed in Lahore encounter

A huge cache of ammunition and three motorcycles have also been recovered from their possession, say police

Six terrorists belonging to a banned organisation were killed in an encounter with Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police near Saggian bridge in Lahore on Wednesday, Radio Pakistan reported.

"Huge cache of ammunition and three motorcycles have also been recovered from their possession," police said.



On Sunday, Paramilitary Rangers soldiers played a role in the ongoing operation against a criminal gang in Punjab’s Rajanpur district as security forces continued their intelligence based operations (IBOs) against terrorists and their facilitators across Punjab.

According to sources, Rangers, police, Counter-Terrorism Department and intelligence agencies are taking part in these operations, which were started on the order of Army Ahief General Raheel Sharif following a suicide attack in a Lahore park which claimed over 70 lives on March 27. Some 320 intelligence-based operations were conducted in the week that followed the attack.

Meanwhile, the Punjab police and the CTD have also carried out around 360 and 80 search operations, respectively. During these operations, around 29,000 persons were questioned and 850 suspects were rounded up. There are reports that the ongoing IBOs were undertaken without the government’s permission and there is a row between the government and the military establishment over requisitioning Rangers in Punjab.

Further, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and General Raheel discussed the Punjab operation at the PM House on Monday.

“After the Easter carnage in Lahore this is the first interaction between the premier and the army chief,” a source told The Express Tribune, adding that requisitioning the Rangers in Punjab is under discussion.



General Raheel Sharif had ordered a Punjab-wide operation against suspected militants and their facilitators after the attack. However, a day after the army chief’s orders, PM Nawaz and his cabinet agreed not to requisition the paramilitary Rangers for any operation in Punjab with special policing powers. The source went on to add that the premier was still adamant about his stance.