Large contingents of the Pakistan army and local police have been moved to one of the country’s biggest nuclear facilities at Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province fearing a Taliban strike, a local daily reported Thursday.
Later in the day, the bodies of three terrorists were recovered from a building 30km from the plant, police said. An officer said the facility was the target but the terrorists’ suicide vests malfunctioned and exploded.
The Express Tribune, quoting a Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission official, said red alert was sounded at the military site after the ISI intercepted a phone call in which Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan men were heard discussing a suicide attack.
The government and army have not commented on the report.
But, forces were asked to launch a crackdown against banned outfits, police confirmed. Military has also been deployed near the border with Balochistan.
The nature of the threat was “serious”, with an 80% chance of occurrence, the daily said.
The Taliban recently warned they’d avenge the killing of their south Punjab head Abdul Ghaffar Qaisrani by attacking the nuclear facility, the report said.
{{/usCountry}}The Taliban recently warned they’d avenge the killing of their south Punjab head Abdul Ghaffar Qaisrani by attacking the nuclear facility, the report said.
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