LAHORE - The four Taliban militants, shot dead by police and intelligence operatives in a pre-dawn operation in a Pushtun-dominated locality in the suburb of Lahore, have been identified as Al Qaeda affiliates.
Two suspects were also arrested with bullet injuries. A police constable sustained bullet wounds during the operation launched in Khan Colony near Ferozwala in Sheikhupura district in the wee hours of Monday.
Officials said the militants were planning attacks on a senior politician in Lahore while a market and a sensitive building were also their targets. The bullet-riddled bodies were moved to the morgue.
Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada told reporters the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Lahore police and intelligence agencies raided a house situated on Kala Shah Kaku Road on a tip-off.
One of the militants detonated a suicide vest, wrapped to his chest, during the crossfire while three others were killed in the shootout, the minister confirmed. “After initial investigations, we can confirm that they belonged to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda having sanctuaries in the northwest.”
The security personnel also seized three suicide jackets, one rocket launcher, at least five automatic assault rifles and a large cache of bullets besides maps of important buildings from the crime scene, police sources claimed.
According to the minister, the intelligence agencies had prior information about the presence of suspected militants in a house. “As the police vehicles moved close to the site, the militants opened fire on them, using heavy and automatic weapons,” he disclosed.
When asked about the identities of the suspects, the minister said that two of the four militants who were shot dead during the operation belonged to North Waziristan.
Khanzada, however, did not share any details about the injured militants who were arrested from the hideout. “The security and intelligence agencies are investigating the matter. This is a very sensitive issue and we cannot share details at this stage because of security concerns,” he held. He further said that raids are underway in different parts of the province to hunt down the accomplices of the terrorists.
A duty officer at Ferozwala police station confirmed the raid and killings. He said they had no knowledge about the whereabouts of the militants caught with bullet injuries.
The intelligence agencies had already been put on high alert since they had received secret information that Waziristan-based militants had entered Lahore to launch terror strikes, officials said.
On the other hand, the police have stepped up security sweep across the provincial metropolis while snap checking has been intensified at the entry and exit points of the provincial metropolis.
“Search operations against strangers and suspected elements are underway on the orders of DIG (Operations) Haider Ashraf in Lahore. At least 16 suspects were detained during the last 12 hours,” a police spokesperson said late Monday night.
Following the Ferozwala operation which lasted more than three hours, a fresh terror alert has been sounded across the Punjab province and the law-enforcement agencies have been ordered to remain on their toes.
The police and security agencies are desperately hunting militants in urban parts of the country since the federal government ordered the provinces to fully implement the National Action Plan (NAP) being dubbed here as a “decisive operation” against the terrorists, their supporters and sympathisers.
Meanwhile, responding to media queries, Punjab Home Minister Khanzada said the government was exploiting all available resources to contain militants and sectarian elements. He said the registration process of at least 13,802 seminaries had been completed and the authorities were closely monitoring such religious schools and non-government organisations (NGOs) working in the province. He said the government has so far taken action against at least seven NGOs after they were found involved in illegal activities.