A militant was killed while three, including a female ‘terrorist’, were arrested from Lahore.
According to details, intelligence agencies and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) conducted an operation in Punjab Society of the provincial capital.
The militants were residing in a rented house. Four security personnel were injured in cross firing, reported sources. Huge cache of weapons and suicide jacket were retrieved from the militants.
On February 22, Pakistan Army launched a countrywide operation for “indiscriminately eliminating residual and latent threat of terrorism”.
Operation ‘Radd-ul-Fasaad [eradication of violence/mischief]’ was termed the last phase of the armed action by country’s security forces against terrorists, which has been ongoing for over a decade.
The aim of the operation, according to a press release issued by the ISPR, is to consolidate gains of earlier military operations like Zarb-e-Azb, Rah-e-Raast and Rah-e-Najaat.
Besides ensuring more effective border management and continuation of ongoing operations in troubled areas of the country as part of this process, one of its key features is action of Rangers in Punjab – which has been a longstanding demand of various segments of the society.
Additionally, the country would be de-weaponised through a national campaign and a comprehensive explosives control regime would be put in place.
The announcement of the nation-wide anti-terror operation came after Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa chaired a high-level security meeting in Lahore.
A sweeping action against suspected militant elements across the country had already been initiated after a series of bloody extremist assaults killed dozens of people across the country. Now, however, it has been formally named and its objectives and scope have been clearly stated.
Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, civil armed forces (CAF) and other security and law enforcing agencies (LEAs) are actively participating and intimately supporting the efforts to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country, the media wing of the military said, showing the scale and comprehensiveness of this national operation.