Lahore [Pakistan], April 14 (ANI): Punjab's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) announced on Monday that it had successfully foiled several major terrorist attacks by arresting 10 individuals affiliated with banned outfits during a wide-scale crackdown across the province, Dawn reported.

According to a statement issued by the CTD spokesperson, the arrests were made following 189 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted across different districts of Punjab, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Jhelum, and Bahawalpur.

A total of 189 suspects were interrogated during these IBOs, out of which 10 were found to be involved in terror-related activities and subsequently taken into custody.

The arrested individuals include Badal Singh, Suraj Singh, Siraj, Hidayatullah, Deedar Hussain, Sadaqat Hussain, and others. All of them are reported to have ties with proscribed groups such as Fitna Khawarij and Al-Zainabiyoun.

The statement highlighted that two of the most prominent arrests--Suraj Singh and Badal Singh--took place in Rawalpindi, where authorities also seized a large quantity of explosives. Both men are residents of Nankana Sahib, reported Dawn.

The raids resulted in the recovery of 2,645 grams of explosives, 16 detonators, and 37 feet of safety fuse wire. In addition, authorities confiscated 75 pamphlets and magazines linked to banned organisations, as well as several mobile phones and a sum of cash.

The spokesperson added that the arrested individuals were allegedly planning to target important buildings in Rawalpindi and other cities. Nine first information reports (FIRs) have been registered in connection with the arrests, and further investigations are currently underway.

In a broader counterterrorism effort, the CTD also carried out 2,053 combing operations this week in collaboration with local police and security agencies. These operations screened 82,473 individuals, resulting in the arrest of 263 suspects and the filing of 226 FIRs.

The development comes amid a broader surge in terror activity across Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), February recorded 79 terror attacks nationwide, which resulted in the deaths of 55 civilians and 47 security personnel., Dawn reported.

An additional 45 civilians and 81 security personnel sustained injuries. In response, security forces intensified operations, eliminating 156 terrorists, injuring 20, and apprehending 66. (ANI)