Tag: ctd

  • Priest shot down dead in Peshawar

    Priest shot down dead in Peshawar

    William Siraj, a priest, was shot dead while another was injured after armed assailants opened fire on them in Peshawar, reports Dawn.

    After the incident, evidence was collected from the scene and the body was shifted for an autopsy while further investigation is underway. However, the injured priest was discharged after being provided medical treatment for sustaining minor injuries.

    According to the police, “Siraj was a padre at a church within Chamkani police station limits.” Moreover, police have launched a comprehensive investigation.

    Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Abbas Ahsan said, “We are determined to protect minorities.” He added that a team consisting of officials from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and Peshawar police have been formed to probe the case.

    Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan took notice of the incident and condemned the fact that religious leaders of the Christian community were targeted. He also directed the Inspector General of Police (IG) to take necessary steps for arresting the culprits.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman strongly condemned the attack.

    “Terrorism that targets anyone, especially for their faith, is heinous and must be fought against with the full force of a clear, concerted policy and state power. No compromise, no equivocation,” she tweeted.

  • CIA joins investigation of Lahore blast, arrest suspects

    CIA joins investigation of Lahore blast, arrest suspects

    The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) has joined the Lahore bomb blast investigation and will interrogate the case with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), reports Dawn.

    Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan also announced that the CIA has been assigned to investigate the probe beside the CTD.

    Law enforcement agencies have started their search operations all over the city and arrested some accused on the suspicion of their alleged involvement in the Lahore bomb blast.

    The CIA chief held a meeting on Friday after investigating the crime scene and also sent teams to inspect the roads that the prime suspect could have used the route for escape from the crime scene.

    He said, “We have dispatched teams to all the bus stations, railway stations, and exit-entry points of the provincial capital.”

    He also added that the regional police officers and district police officers of Punjab have also been given orders by the IGP to be vigilant for intensifying the security to track down the culprits.

    Sources shared with Dawn the initial development that the law enforcers received a tip-off about the presence of suspects in the area near Anarkali market and other locations of the city. The investigative team has received some important leads through CCTV video and call records.

    Meanwhile, officials refused to confirm any major development as the interrogation is still underway.

    On Thursday, a bomb blast took place in Lahore near Pan Mandi in New Anarkali in which three people died and 28 people were injured. The injured people were shifted to Mayo Hospital. 20 people who were injured got discharged from Mayo Hos­pital whereas eight victims are still under treatment.

    While replying to Dawn, an official source revealed that there is a “strong possibility” of the Baloch Nationalist Army’s involvement behind the bomb blast.

  • Militants arrested by CTD ‘planned to bomb Sindh Assembly, kill lawmakers’

    Militants arrested by CTD ‘planned to bomb Sindh Assembly, kill lawmakers’

    The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has foiled a potential suicide attack on Sindh Assembly by arresting five militants who were allegedly planning to bomb the building and target the provincial lawmakers.

    On Sunday, the CTD had arrested five militants and shot dead another after an alleged encounter that lasted for more than an hour in Shah Latif Town, Karachi.

    According to Geo, the militants were planning to launch a major terror attack in the port city, as rickshaw parked in front of the gate of the building had explosives in its hidden compartments.

    The news report quoting anonymous officials said that the authorities obtained data from the mobile phone of one of the militants who was arrested by the CTD. It alleged that one of the militants was in touch with “handlers from Afghanistan”. It further claimed that three militants belonged to Kandahar while one was from Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

    The CTD officials also found a video clip of the Sindh Assembly in one of the mobile phones and assumed that the clip must have been shot as a part of their plan to target the building, it claimed. The recce was conducted recently, the report said, adding that militant failed to target the building the same day because the assembly wasn’t in session.

    The report further said that one of the militants was a ‘would-be suicide bomber’ as he had planned to blow himself up at the gate of the Sindh Assembly. After the bombing, the other militants would have entered the building with automatic weapons to do the maximum damage.

  • Attack on CTD office foiled, suspected bomber killed

    The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) foiled a terrorist attack on CTD Police Station Burki Road, Lahore, as it neutralised a would-be suicide bomber who tried to blow up the building.

    A police guard on duty shot the alleged suicide bomber when he did not stop for identification, a CTD spokesperson said. He said the terrorist fired at the check post, but the guard on duty shot him down in retaliatory fire. The alleged terrorist wanted to carry out a suicide attack on the police station; however, timely action by the security officials foiled his plan, the CTD official said.

    The suicide bomber was wearing a suicide vest and had two hand grenades and a handgun in his possession. The bomb disposal squad defused the suicide jacket and took into possession the weapons. It also collected evidence for forensic evaluation.

    No information was given about his identity by the police. Meanwhile, the police have started an investigation and were trying to trace his collaborators.

    Following the attempted attack, the security forces started a search operation after cordoning off the area.