Over 100 persons enlisted in terror schedule last year

Punjab CTD pursues Red Notices against more than a dozen suspects

LAHORE:

The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) added 105 suspicious persons and 354 seminaries in the Fourth Schedule list during the year 2022.

According to the department, it carried out 1,225 intelligence-based operations across Punjab, in which 244 suspects were arrested and 197 cases were registered.

The department’s investigation wing registered 205 cases against suspected terrorists, arrested 246 of them and submitted charge sheets against 183, while investigations were under way in 22 cases for trial, a spokesman stated on Monday.

The spokesman added that the Punjab CTD had seized 64.36kg of explosives, 48 hand grenades, 253 detonators, seven batteries, 215 metres of prima cord, three SMGs, 40 pistols, 324 bullets and three magazines from the suspected terrorists during the year.

Personnel of the department arrested 20 proclaimed offenders, three men named in the Red Book of wanted terrorists were killed in encounter and 13 carrying head money were traced.

Worldwide Red Notices were issued to apprehend six suspects and investigations were started to issue the notices for seven others.

On January 20, 2022, the CTD arrested Abdul Razzaq and Sanaullah who were involved in a bomb explosion at Anarkali, the spokesman claimed, adding that they were later killed in a police encounter when they resisted the recovery of explosives. He said that main accused Peter Parul and his accomplices Ziaullah, Eid Gul, Ayesha and Sajid in a bomb explosion in Johar Town were also brought to justice. Three people had been killed and 22 others injured in the explosion.

He said the CTD had also conducted an operation in Balochistan on a tip-off to arrest most wanted proclaimed offenders and arrested Uzair Akbar and Naveed Akhtar.

The technical wing of the provincial CTD recommended to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority the blocking of 123,291 websites involved in cybercrimes, of which 74,230 were blocked.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2023.