Pakistan

High-profile terrorist killed in Chiniot IBO

Ghazanfar Nadeem alias Khalid Habib allegedly masterminded attack on ISI Faisalabad office

Our Correspondent December 23, 2023

Security officials stand guard at a site. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE

LAHORE:

Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Saturday that it had eliminated a terrorist wanted for 50 murders and an attack on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) office in Faisalabad.

Identified as Ghazanfar Nadeem alias Khalid Habib, the man was neutralized, along with an accomplice, in Chiniot during an intelligence-based operation (IBO). The Punjab government had placed a Rs5 million bounty on Nadeem’s head. However, the identity of the accomplice remains unconfirmed.

Read Terrorism: K-P’s year-round menace

CTD officials reported receiving information about the terrorists' presence in a Chiniot neighborhood. The CTD team swiftly cordoned off the area and surrounded the house.

Upon the team’s approach, the terrorists opened fire, prompting retaliatory action by the CTD. The exchange resulted in the death of Ghazanfar Nadeem and his accomplice.

Following the operation, the CTD seized explosives and modern weaponry from the hideout. The bodies were then shifted to the hospital. Senior police officers, including DPO Chiniot and Faisalabad CTD District Officer Jamshed Iqbal, arrived at the scene.

Read Terrorism: K-P’s year-round menace

Sources revealed that Nadeem had been on the run since 2011, evading various law enforcement agencies. He was linked to eleven major terror incidents, including an assault on the ISI office in Faisalabad and a suicide attack in Dera Ghazi Khan, targeting a religious party leader. Faisalabad CTD Police Station initiated an investigation by filing a case against the deceased terrorists.

On September 13, the CTD eliminated a key militant commander of the outlawed Daish in an operation in Balochistan’s Mastung district. The slain commander, identified as Ghulam Mohyuddin Shahwani alias Shoaib, was reportedly involved in attacks on Maulana Ghafoor Haideri of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Jamiat-e-Islam chief Sirajul Haq, and others.