By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed nine militants in coordinated raids across three cities on Saturday, thwarting what officials described as imminent attacks on civilian and law enforcement targets.
The operations, spanning Taunsa Sharif, Bahawalpur, and Lakki Marwat, dealt a significant blow to insurgent networks, though several suspects escaped, signaling ongoing challenges.
In Taunsa Sharif, a city in central Punjab province, the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) conducted an intelligence-based operation near the Tri-Border Village, killing five terrorists and disrupting a terror plot.
The CTD described the action as a “major counter-terrorism breakthrough.” The operation was launched following “credible intelligence reports” about armed terrorists in the area.
When the CTD team moved to apprehend the suspects, the terrorists opened fire, sparking a heavy exchange of gunfire that lasted several hours. Five terrorists were killed, while five others sustained injuries and fled into a nearby forest. “The CTD teams acted swiftly and professionally, preventing what could have been a catastrophic attack,” the CTD said in a statement.
During a subsequent combing operation, authorities recovered rifles, three improvised explosive devices, a large quantity of ammunition, hand grenades, and explosive material.
Four bodies were handed over to a hospital for legal formalities, while accomplices removed one from the scene.
The CTD established checkpoints near Romani, Taunsa, to secure the area and launched a search to apprehend the escaped militants. The identification process for the deceased is ongoing.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the CTD’s efforts, stating that the terrorists belonged to Fitna al Hindustan, a term coined by Pakistan’s military to designate terrorist groups in Balochistan and to highlight India’s alleged role in destabilizing the region.
The CTD noted it has been “continuously operating against the terrorists attacking police posts in the tri-border area of Dera Ghazi Khan.”
In a separate operation in Bahawalpur, a city in south Punjab, the provincial CTD and police jointly targeted a “highly wanted terrorist” affiliated with Fitna al Hindustan.
Acting on immediate intelligence, the team engaged the suspect, resulting in an exchange of fire that left one terrorist dead. Three accomplices escaped during the confrontation.
“The timely action of the CTD averted a major tragedy,” the CTD said in a statement. The operation yielded a significant haul, including a large quantity of ammunition, hand grenades, and sensitive material intended for a major sabotage plot.
The CTD registered a case on charges of terrorism, murder, and possession of explosives. Raids are underway to capture the escaped terrorists, and further investigation continues.
In Lakki Marwat district, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) CTD and police conducted a raid that ended in a shootout with militants. Three members of the Pakistani Taliban’s Tipu Gul group were killed, and authorities seized three Kalashnikovs and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. “
These militants were actively engaged in targeted killings and direct assaults against law enforcement personnel, including multiple CTD and district police officials,” the statement said.
The raids come amid a sharp rise in violence in Pakistan’s western regions near the Afghan border. Just a day earlier, on Friday, the military reported that security forces had killed at least 30 “Indian-sponsored” militants attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of supporting militant groups and Afghanistan of permitting its territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan.
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