Pakistan: Two counter-terrorism department officials killed in Khanewal

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 4 (ANI): At least two Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials were killed when they were attacked at a local hotel in Khanewal, Geo News reported citing a senior police official.
Pakistan's south Punjab Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Sahabzada Shahzad Sultan, in a statement, said that the incident was an act of terror. While giving details about the incident, the police officials said that the perpetrators were on a motorcycle and started firing at the parking lot of a hotel.
The police official pointed out, "one inspector remained unhurt." And added that the attackers killed Director CTD Naveed Sial and Inspector Nasir Abbas.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah took notice of the incident and asked Punjab's inspector-general of police and the province's chief secretary to submit a report, Geo News reported.
In a statement, Sanaullah expressed his grief by saying "the incident is lamentable".
Expressing his concerns, he said the security situation in Punjab is a cause of concern, adding that the provincial government should take necessary measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
In December 2022, militants also took over a CTD compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu area, cleared by the Pakistan Army soldiers three days later. However, four soldiers were killed and 10 sustained injuries, according to Geo News.
The latest incident comes as Pakistan witnesses a spike in terror incidents, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) ended a ceasefire with Islamabad.
In light of the incidents, Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) vowed to show 'zero tolerance' for terrorism amid the spurt in terrorist strikes by banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a rise in cross-border terrorism on the Pak-Afghanistan border, Geo News reported.
Notably, this zero-tolerance stance on terrorism comes at a time when the peace agreement between the TTP and the Pakistan administration was revoked. And recently Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that despite the agreement, Afghanistan's soil is being used for attacks against his country.
Asif also pointed out that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for 58 per cent of all terrorist incidents in Pakistan, with some of them also occurring in Balochistan. Meanwhile, in Sindh and Punjab Province.
The 40th National Security Committee (NSC) meeting under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif was completed on Monday. During the committee meeting the leadership assured that Pakistan will maintain its resolve of having Zero Tolerance for terrorism in Pakistan and reaffirmed its determination to take on any and all entities that resort to violence, Geo News reported.
Further, according to the same report the NSC forum also mentioned that the law enforcement agencies especially Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTD) will be upgraded to the required fighting capabilities to fight terrorism.
The Geo News report said that relevant federal cabinet members, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, all services chiefs, and heads of intelligence services attended this meet. (ANI)