Punjab: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2016

A five kilogram of bomb with 2.5 kilogram of ball bearings and two gallons petrol along with a remote control device was found under the stairs of the Samsani overhead bridge on Canal Road in provincial capital Lahore on January 4, sometime after Federal Minister of Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan drove through the area, reports Dawn. Sadar Division Superintendent of Police (SP) Haroonur Rasheed said that the bomb had been placed to harm the Interior Minister who crossed the bridge on his way to Islamabad. Read less...

Another convict, identified as Rasheed Ahmad, was hanged till death in the New Central Jail in Bahawalpur District on January 12, reports The News. He was accused of murdering a man in 2004. Read less...

Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies on January 12 claimed to have arrested seven Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) suspect allegedly involved in attacks on different media houses during a raid in Samanabad area  of provincial capital Lahore, reports Dawn. Quoting intelligence sources, some television news channels reported that prime suspects Saifullah and Waheed and their five accomplices were arrested. Arms and ammunition, maps of some media houses and jihadi literature were recovered from their possession. Read less...

Two death row convicts were hanged till death in Toba Tek Singh and Bahawalpur jails early on Tuesday. A death convict, Muhammad Sardar, was hanged till death in the District Jail Toba Tek Singh on January 12, reports The News. He was accused of killing one Amanullah in 1993. Read less...

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on January 14 sealed a mosque-cum-seminary run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and detained 14 JeM cadres from Mundeyki Goraya village in Sialkot District, reports Dawn. An unnamed senior official said that a contingent of CTD and Police raided and sealed Jamia Masjid and Madrassah Al-Noor. Read less...

Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on January 15 conducted a raid on a Madrasah run by JaisheMuhammad (JeM) in Razaabad of Faisalabad city in the Punjab Province and arrested eight JeM militants, reports Daily Times. The arrestees were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Among those taken into custody include JeM Regional Chief Muhammad Hassan alias Abu Jandal whereas the identification of the others could not be confirmed so far. Read less...

The Government shut down several religious schools run by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group accused of masterminding the attack on Pathankot air base in India, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said on January 15, reports Daily Times. The crackdown in Punjab, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s power base and the headquarters of JeM, follows the arrest this week of several members of the militant group, including its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, a hardliner and long-time foe of India. The Government has said it is clamping down on Azhar’s group while it investigates Indian assertions that the January 2 attack on the Pathankot air base was the work of the Pakistan-based militants. Read less...

Three Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) cadres, who were among the 31 arrested suspects as part of a crackdown on the outfit in the aftermath of the January 2, 2016, Pathankot terror attack, were charged in an Anti-Terrorism Court of Sialkot District on January 17 for possessing jihadi literature, reports The Times of India.  The three suspects, however, were not charged in connection with the Pathankot attack and instead were charged for possessing jihadi literature. Read less...

Police January 22 killed three al Qaeda terrorists in a shootout in Azam Chowk in Layyah District of Punjab Province, thwarting a major terror attack, reports The Hindu. According to a Counter-Terrorism Department spokesman, “a team of Police personnel on January 22 night raided a house in Azam Chowk. The terrorists present in the house opened fire. The police returned the fire killing three terrorists.” “Three of their accomplices, however, managed to escape,” he said, adding that a huge quantity of explosives was recovered from the house. Read less...

A terror bid was foiled by Police when a terrorist during an encounter with Police blew himself up in Domeli Mor area of Jhelum District on January 28, reports Dawn police said. The terrorist who was allegedly targeting the Rawalpindi to Lahore Pakistan Express tried to plant explosives on railway tracks near Grand Trunk Road when a some passerby reported about this to Motorway Police. The terrorist lobbed a hand grenade at security personnel upon sight and then blew himself up, security sources said. Police recovered four hand grenades and two pistols, as well as two National Identity Cards and a vehicle from his possession. Read less...