Faisalabad and Bahawalpur narrowly escaped a major tragedy as the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested 12 terrorists linked to India’s intelligence agency RAW.

According to CTD Punjab, a large cache of weapons, explosives, detonators, IED bombs, and cash was recovered from the suspects. Authorities also seized photographs, videos, and location data of sensitive sites and institutions from the captured RAW operatives.

A CTD spokesperson revealed that the arrested members of the “Fitna-e-Hindustan” group had also stored images, videos, and locations of a madrassa and a local festival. The terrorists arrested from Faisalabad were planning to spread fear across Punjab and provoke religious hatred.

Those arrested in Lahore include Sukhdeep Singh, Azmat, Faizan, Nabeel, Abrar, Usman, and Sarfaraz, while the Faisalabad suspect has been identified as Danish.

Meanwhile, the suspects taken into custody from Bahawalpur include Rajab, Hashim, Saqib, and Arif.

CTD Punjab added that a Facebook ID named “Adil,” operated from India by RAW, played a key role in helping authorities trace and arrest the terrorists.

According to officials, Sukhdeep Singh, a member of the Fitna-e-Hindustan network, was a Christian by birth who had recently changed his religion. The group had been receiving substantial funding from RAW.

Cases have been registered against the arrested men, and further investigations are underway. CTD Punjab confirmed the recovery of IEDs, detonators, two safety fuses, 102 feet of wire, mobile phones, cash, and weapons from the suspects.