ISLAMABAD: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the capital police along with intelligence agencies arrested three militants on Friday, police said.

A spokesperson for the police in a statement said the three members of a proscribed militant group were arrested from the suburbs of the capital. The police also recovered explosives, hand grenades and weapons from their possession.

Over the arrest and the recovery, a case has been registered at the CTD Police Station.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Ali Raza told Dawn that the three militants were members of sleeper cells of the militant group and staying in the capital for reconnaissance to carry out terrorist attacks. Earlier, the intelligence wing of the CTD and intelligence agencies had spotted a sleeper cell in the capital and mounted vigilance.

DIG says bid to carry out terrorist attack during SCO summit was also foiled last month

The vigilance led to the identification of two more sleeper cells in the capital. On Friday, a joint team of CTD and intelligence agencies raided a hideout located in H-13 and arrested the three militants and recovered explosives, weapons and hand-grenades, he added.

Terror attack foiled

The capital police and intelligence agencies foiled a terrorist attack during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the capital last month and arrested two suspects besides recovering a suicide jacket and weapons from them.

DIG Raza told Dawn that the two militants affiliated with the TTP were arrested on October 15.

“It was the great successes of the police and the intelligence, as they foiled the attack besides arresting the militants. However, the achievement was kept in secrete for the sake of the summit success and comfort of the foreign dignitaries,” he added.

He said the discloure of the arrests would have spoiled the summit instead of appreciation for the police and intelligence agencies.

The concerned authorities still wanted to keep the arersts a secrete keeping in view the Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in Pakistan early next year, he said. However, the information was leaked and appeared in the media.

Two days before the summit, an intelligence agency issued a threat alert, stating that militants planned a terrorist attack during the summit in the Red Zone. The alert was issued after a call was intercepted.

Intelligence agencies and police worked jointly and through the call number located the presence of the terrorist in Rawalpindi. On October 15, a raid was conducted jointly by the capital police and intelligence agencies in which two militants were arrested while their accomplice managed to escape.

During the raid, the officials recovered a suicide jacket and weapons from the hideout of the militants. Both the arrested militants hailed from Tank area of KP.

During interrogation, the two arrested militants disclosed the identification of the escaped militant and described him as a suicide bomber.

Before the summit, the police had locked down the capital, forcefully shutting down all businesses, including edible shops and stores, only because of the escape of the would-be suicide bomber.

The police and agencies started working on the information collected from the two militants and came to know that the escaped militant was in contact with an official of a paramilitary force. In response, a team was constituted under the supervision of DIG Raza and the official was arrested on the day of the summit.

The official of the paramilitary force was interrogated by the agencies and the police and his status was verified. However, he was found clear. It was revealed that he and the would-be suicide bomber were cousins and some time the militant talked to him on mobile.

Later, the agencies also traced the would-be suicide bomber in KP and arrested him.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024