COUNTER TERRORISM

COUNTER TERRORISM DEPARTMENT IN                                  PUNJAB

 

At least 7 people were killed when a Bomb exploded in the southern area of Karachi (Jan 2000). Attack on a Protestant church in southern Punjab city of Bahawalpur resulted in 16 deaths and 6 injuries (October 28,2001) At least 11 Shi'a worshipers were killed by indiscriminate firing by a group of masked gunmen at the Shah-i-Najaf Mosque in Rawalpindi (Feb.26,2002).

Two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill the president; 16 others nearby died instead (Dec.25,2003). Six members of Shia family was shot dead in Mughalpura locality of Lahore (may,14,2004).24 people were killed and 73 injured in a suicide attack when the policemen were deliberately targeted outside Lahore High Court before the scheduled lawyer's protest against the government in provincial capital of Lahore (,January 10,2008).

Two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore were attacked by an unknown group. The two attacks were carried out nearly simultaneously, at Garhi Shahu and Lahore Model Town, 15 km apart. More than 95 people were killed and 108 others were injured (May 28,2010).

At least thirteen people are killed while 70 others injured in a suicide bomb explosion in a mourning procession of Hazrat Imam Hussain near its concluding point at Kerbala Gamay Shah at Bhat Gate in Lahore (January 25,2011).

 Functions of Counter Terrorism Dapartment

1.     Collection, collation & dissemination of information

2.     Sectarian activists, Militants, Terrorists & Deeni Madaris

3.     Afghan Trained Boys (ATBs), Returned Afghan Prisoners (RAPs)/Activists on 4th Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA)

4.     Sectarian & Terrorism suspects

5.     Future trends on Terrorism

Comparison of 2013 and 2014

In bird eye view of both tables, number of attacks, Casualties and injured persons are significantly more in punjab in 2014 then  2013. In total 98 incidents of violence were reported during 2014 in Punjab which was 21 percent rise from 81 incidents in 2013. Actually this increase in casualties were not the number of attacks as it increase by 3 figure from 38 to 41 but the reason behind is a major terrorist attack at Wahga Border Lahore soon after flag-lowering ceremony killed 63 people including 3 Rangers personal and 110 were wounded in a single suicide attack.

In another major city of Punjab Rawalpindi terrorists attacks increased by two fold in  2014 compared to 2013 which increased casualties from 8 to 28 in 2014.

In 2013, 28 people were killed in Sectarian attacks including prominent Shia leader Allama Nasir Abbas, ASWJ leader Maulana Shamsur Rehmaman but in 2014, sectarian attacks were reported as 13 killed 17 people main targets were the leaders of ASWJ including assassination of Deputy Punjab chief Maulana Abdul Hameed Khalid and another leader Maulana Izharul Haq Farooqui.

 While in 2013, 17 attacks targeted political leaders and workers including PPP, PML-N and PTI. In the month of May former prime minister son, Ali Haider Gilani was kidnapped and in 2014 number of terrorist attacks on political leaders are 11 including attack on General Pervaiz Musharaf at Faisalabad just after his convey passed.

       Comparison: (year 2015-16)

Compared to total of 24 terrorists attacks in 2015, a total of 7 terrorists attacks took place in Punjab, a decrease fo 69 percent. Despite the significant drop of in the number of terrorist attacks in Punjab, the number of people killed (80) and injured (241) in these attacks fell only by 4 percent as compared to previous year. That was due to to a major attack launched by militants against members of christian community in 27 March 2016 killed 74 people including 29 children in a suicide blast in the parking space of a crowded park in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday.

In Rahim Yar Khan, 2 officials of the CTD of police were injured in a suicide blast near a mosque in Shafi Town area on December 30. A burqa-clad bomber blow himself when the CTD officials tried to stop him and his companion. DPO Zeeshan Asghar said the attacker had apparently come to target acting DSP of CTD Mohammad Ashraf who was present nearby.