ISLAMABAD

Pakistani authorities announced Monday that they had arrested 21 members of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups in eastern Punjab province over the past two weeks.

According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the militants were arrested in Lahore, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Bahawalnagar and Sargodha.

"The arrested militants belong to the banned organizations TTP, the Baloch Liberation Army, Sepah Sahaba Pakistan, ISIS (Daesh), Lashkar Jhangvi and Sepah Muhammad Pakistan," it said in a statement sent to Anadolu.

The CTD said the militants were arrested during intelligence-based operations and explosives, hand grenades and other devices used in bombings were recovered.

"The terrorists had planned (acts of) sabotage across the province and wanted to target important installations," it added.

Pakistan has seen a rise in terrorist attacks over the last several months.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan-based militants of carrying out attacks on security forces and civilians in Pakistan, a charge that Kabul has denied.

Last year, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 people were wounded in 789 terrorists attacks, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank.

"This includes nearly 1,000 fatalities among civilians and security force personnel. The overall fatalities, including those of outlaws, mark a record six-year high, exceeding the 2018 level and the highest since 2017. Moreover, the country saw a surge in violence for the third consecutive year with an uptick recorded each year beginning from 2021," said the CRSS in its annual report released Sunday.