Lahore, April 1 An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced an Al-Qaeda operative to 33 years in prison for planning an attack in a busy marketplace in the Punjab province, the Counter Terrorism Department said on Wednesday.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said that it arrested Junaid Ashraf, an Al-Qaeda operative from the Sahiwal district of Punjab, about 200 km from Lahore, in October last year, based on a tip-off.
During interrogation, Ashraf, a resident of Anwar Colony in Tando Muhammad Khan, Sindh province, revealed that he had been tasked with carrying out an explosion in a busy marketplace in Sahiwal.
Authorities recovered approximately 2,212 grams of explosive material, including prima cord, electronic devices, mobile phones, electronic detonators, system components, an iron box, and a pistol, from him.
"On Tuesday, the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sahiwal, presided over by a special judge, awarded Ashraf a 33-year prison sentence and also imposed a fine of PKR 5,000, based on the evidence presented by the prosecution," the CTD said.
The CTD claimed that Ashraf had received instructions from his accomplices in Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda is a banned terrorist organization in Pakistan since 2002.