A senior police official on Tuesday confirmed that terrorists martyred two Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel while they were in a local hotel in Khanewal.
South Punjab Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Sahibzada Shahzad Sultan said in a statement that this incident is an act of terrorism.
He further said that the attackers were on a motorcycle. Of the CTD personnel, “one inspector survived,” Sultan said.
AGIP Sultan further said that the firing took place in the parking lot of a hotel in which Director CTD Naveed Syal and Inspector Nasir Abbas were killed.
Taking notice of the incident, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah sought a report from the Punjab Inspector General of Police and the Chief Secretary of the province.
In a statement, Sanaullah expressed her grief and said that “the incident is sad”.
Expressing his concerns, he said that the security situation in Punjab is alarming, adding that the provincial government should take necessary steps to prevent such incidents in future.
In December 2022, militants also captured a CTD compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu area, which was cleared three days later by Pakistan Army troops. However, four soldiers lost their lives and 10 were injured.
The latest incident comes as incidents of terrorism have increased in Pakistan, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) ended its ceasefire with Islamabad.
In light of these incidents, the National Security Committee (NSC) decided that no country will be allowed to provide shelter and facilities to terrorists and Pakistan reserves all rights to protect its people.
“It [terrorism] will be tackled with the full force of the state. There is no compromise on the security of Pakistan and the full writ of the state will be maintained on every inch of the land,” the committee decided, a nation of 220 million. Dealing with growing terrorism in the country.
The government and state institutions vowed that the fundamental interests of Pakistan’s existence, security and development would be protected with bravery and long-term strategy.
It was expressed in the meeting that terrorists are enemies of Pakistan and the whole nation is united on the single narrative of standing against terrorism.
The statement said that those challenging the writ of the state will be given a strong response.
Pakistan witnessed 376 terrorist attacks during the past year, leading to an increase in casualties in KP and Balochistan, while December proved to be the deadliest month for the country.
The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in its annual report said that most of these attacks were attributed to banned terrorist organizations such as the TTP, Daesh and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). has accepted.
