In light of the prevailing security situation, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar has directed immediate sweep and combing operations in major cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan.
In a statement, Dr Anwar said that all Senior District Police Officers (SDPOs) and Station House Officers (SHOs) will participate in the operations alongside the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and other sensitive agencies.
He emphasised that security at educational institutions would be tightened further with CCTV cameras installed at entry and exit points, deployment of security guards and arrangements for emergency evacuation to be ensured.
The IGP also ordered profiling and data verification of individuals entering the province.
The statement comes a day after Punjab CTD said it had arrested 12 suspected terrorists allegedly working for the Indian intelligence agency Research Analysis Wing (RAW) in intelligence-based operations conducted in Lahore, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur.
According to a statement issued by a CTD spokesperson, the arrests were made in collaboration with security agencies.
The spokesperson said security personnel recovered photos, videos, weapons and explosives from the suspects, preventing large-scale terrorism activities in the aforementioned cities.
They said the recovered material reportedly also included images and video recordings of sensitive locations, including a religious seminary.
The spokesperson said the terrorists were planning to incite “fear and religious hatred” in the province and had plans to target “places of worship and other important sites”.
They said that arrests came after the CTD investigated a Facebook account allegedly being operated from India to coordinate terrorist activities.
All of these terrorists were being funded by the Indian agency RAW, the CTD spokesperson said.
“Seven improvised explosive devices, two detonators, 102 feet of safety fuse wire, explosives, weapons, mobile phones and cash were recovered from the possession of the terrorists.”