The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan said in a recent media statement that it killed five suspected ‘terrorists’ during a raid in Quetta.
The CTD spokesperson said that the raid was carried out on the ‘militant hideout’ in the Hazarganji area of Quetta on Monday. A firefight broke out between the CTD personnel and the ‘militants’, and the five ‘terrorists’ were killed. The CTD did not identify the deceased individuals.
The CTD said that the raid had been successful and a large collection of weapons was also confiscated from the “terrorists.”
It should be noted that the Counter-Terrorism Department has been frequently accused of employing a “gangster” modus operandi -— many argue that it carries out extralegal executions and fake encounters and then frames it as a ‘confrontation.’ Earlier in May, the CTD made a similar claim, saying that it had cornered and killed five suspected terrorists in the Marwar area of Bolan. Subsequent investigations revealed that the story was a hoax — the five “suspected terrorists” CTD claimed of killing were actually Baloch missing persons who were “forcibly disappeared” years ago from different areas of Balochistan. All five of the victims had the telltale signs of a missing person — ragged, torn clothes, ruffled beard and dishevelled hair.