After an Elite Force commando was killed and two others were injured during a raid on a suspected terrorist hideout on October 15, the Punjab police chief has directed that in the future Counter-Terrorism Force (CTF), a specialised unit of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), should be used for such operations.
Elite Force commando, Irshad Ahmed, was killed during the operation at Iqbal Town in the Dhamial village. The injured commandoes - constable Mohsin Shah and assistant sub-inspector Ibrar Hussain - were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital from the District Headquarters Hospital on Wednesday.
However, Ibrar Hussain was later discharged after his condition improved.
Later, IGP Punjab Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera directed the police across the province to use the CTF corporals in such raids, a senior police official said.
The corporals are the members of the CTF, the operational wing of the CTD.
In addition to the Elite Force personnel, five people, including a suspected terrorist, two women and two children were killed in the intelligence-based operation.
The security personnel took three suspects into custody but it was yet to be determined whether they were linked to any militant organisation.
The CTD had said one of the men living in the house was associated with the ‘Asim Punjabi group’ of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) that is supposed to be having links with Daesh, Known as ISIS.
In March 2015, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had hailed the new CTF for fighting terrorism, extremism and sectarianism.
Of the total number of CTF personnel called corporals, the first batch, consisting of 71 personnel, were trained in gathering intelligence, conducting investigations and special operations. The eight-week training was conducted by the Pakistan Army, police commandos and experts from Turkey.
Though the Elite Force was the brainchild of the chief minister and formed in 1998, a majority of its personnel have been used for VIP security/escort duties.
