Pakistan Rangers arrest 600 terror suspects in 200 operations in Punjab

Army launched 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' to consolidate gains of its counter-terrorism ops

Pakistan Rangers have killed four terrorists and detained 600 terror suspects during over 200 search operations in Punjab province under the recently launched nation-wide military operation 'Radd-ul-Fasaad'.

The army last week launched 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' — an Arabic word which translates roughly to 'elimination of discord' — across the country, to eliminate terrorists and consolidate gains of its counter-terrorism operations, days after a wave of suicide attacks that killed more than 125 people, including 91 at a Sufi shrine in Sindh.

An important part of the operation was deployment of paramilitary Rangers in Punjab province to counter terrorism.

The army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said Punjab Rangers conducted over 200 search operations in various areas of Punjab including Karor, Layyah and Rawalpindi and arrested 600 suspects, including Afghan nationals.

Four suspected terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with security personnel, it said in a statement.

During the operation, the paramilitary force searched suspected houses, seminaries and shops, the statement said.

Some suspects belonging to Jamat-u-Ahrar (JuA), believed to be facilitators in the recent terror attacks in the country, are also among the arrested suspects.

JuA had claimed responsibility for the bombing on the Mall Road Lahore and the suicide attack on a shrine in Sehwan Sharif Sindh this month.

Weapons and banned literature have been seized during the operation.

The Nawaz Sharif government has approved the deployment of the Rangers in Punjab province for 60 days after the Mall Road Lahore bombing.

It was a long-standing demand of the opposition parties to deploy Rangers in Punjab for an operation against militants believed to be holed up in the southern part of the province.

The Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab police has also killed 17 terrorists mostly belonging to JuA after the February 17 Lahore bombing.

The Radd-ul-Fasaad operation is aimed at the elimination of the residual and latent threat of terrorism, consolidating gains of operations made so far and ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders.

Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Civil Armed Forces (CAF) and other security and law enforcing agencies (LEAs) are supposed to participate in the operation.