Lahore, December 31
A Taliban plot to target the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Wagah land border with India was foiled with the arrest of 10 persons, including a top militant commander, Pakistani security agencies claimed today.
Khalilullah, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander of southern Punjab province, and a 17-year-old would-be suicide bomber were captured at Manawan in Lahore over a week ago by the Pakistan intelligence agencies.
Acting on information provided by them, security officials subsequently arrested eight more persons. Some explosives and documents were also
seized from their possession.
Officials said the arrested men disclosed during interrogation that they intended to target the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Wagah land border with India, where a large number of people usually gather everyday to witness the event.
Khalilullah, described as a close aide of slain Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, was wanted by the USA, officials said.
Lahore police chief Pervez Rathore said Khalilullah and his team were involved in almost all recent terror attacks across Punjab. He allegedly masterminded the December 7 suicide attack on Moon Market here that killed over 60 persons. “He is also on the US list of most-wanted terrorists and carried a head money of millions of dollars,” Rathore said.
Khalilullah told investigators that he had a team of “600 suicide bombers” in Swat.
— PTI
