PESHAWAR:The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has apprehended two terrorists belonging to a network involved in terror financing through the extortion of money from the business community.
DIG, CTD Finance Unit, Imran Shahid addressing a press conference said that the terrorists were arrested in Lahore on a scientific investigation and tracing of their phone calls.
He further explained that the arrested terrorists identified a Zaman Faiz and Sadullah, were Afghan nationals and active members of a terrorist group.
They had been implicated in numerous incidents of extortion targeting businessmen and traders, the DIG added
He said the group had been operating actively in the Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They used threatening phone calls to extort money from their victims, warning them of dire consequences, including murder and property damage if the extortion demands were not met.
It was revealed that the arrested terrorists were affiliated with the TTP, and the extorted money was being used for financing terrorist attacks and acquiring weapons and explosive materials.
Imran Shahid said the terrorist network had established WhatsApp groups for sharing information, and many phone numbers were found to be operating with SIM cards from Afghanistan.
The police and CTD officials were making efforts to arrest other members of the group and eliminate the network’s presence in the Mohmand district, he added.