Gujrat (Pakistan). In a major operation, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan's Punjab province has arrested a top leader of the banned al-Qaeda organization from Gujrat city. Security forces have arrested Amin ul Haq, a senior al-Qaeda leader close to Osama bin Laden, as part of their ongoing campaign against operatives of banned organizations including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and al-Qaeda.
According to the information, this operation based on intelligence was carried out under Pakistan's new military operation Azm-e-Istehkam. Amin ul Haq, who was arrested, is originally from Afghanistan and was living in Pakistan on fake documents. CTD DIG Usman Gondal said, “The arrest of Amin ul Haq is very important, his name is listed as a global terrorist. He was an important part of Al Qaeda. He played an important role in reorganizing the banned terrorist organization.” Haq was close to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden since 1996, who was killed by the US Army in Abbottabad, Pakistan in 2011.
Haq is considered one of the top fighters of the extremist group, who was involved in several terrorist activities. He was declared a global terrorist in January 2001. He also went to Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces. Gondal revealed that Haq was living in Pakistan with a fake identity. CTD officials said that at the time of his arrest, a fake National Identity Card (NIC) of Pakistan was found from him, on which the address of Lahore in Punjab and Haripur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was registered. Pakistan has recently launched Operation Azm-e-Istehkam Pakistan against terrorist groups and banned individuals to root out terrorist activities in the country. This arrest is very important in the ongoing efforts against terrorism.
Pakistan has also been expressing serious concern over the support the Afghan Taliban is providing to terrorist groups such as the TTP and its affiliates and their parent organisation Al-Qaeda. There has been a recent increase in terrorist attacks by the TTP and its affiliates, including the recent attack on the Bannu cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Islamabad summoned the Afghan diplomat and issued a serious protest letter, demanding the Afghan Taliban to take immediate action against all groups that are freely present on Afghan soil and are working to spread unrest and terror in Pakistan.
Pakistan has rejected the Afghan Taliban's suggestion to negotiate a peace deal with the TTP and indicated that it may also launch a counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan if the Afghan Taliban continues to facilitate, support, shelter and fund terrorist groups.
