Terrorists have martyred two Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials on Tuesday when they were at a local hotel near Khanewal, police confirmed Tuesday.

In talk with journalists, South Punjab Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Sahabzada Shahzad Sultan said: “An incident is an act of terror.

He said that among the CTD officials, “one inspector remained unhurt,” adding that the offenders were on a motorcycle. 

AGIP Sultan further noted that the firing befallen in the “parking lot of a hotel, killing Director CTD Naveed Sial and Inspector Nasir Abbas”.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah took notice of the incident and asked Punjab’s inspector-general of police and the province’s chief secretary to submit a report.

In a statement, Sanaullah expressed his grief by saying “the incident is lamentable”.

Expressing his concerns, he said the security situation in Punjab is a cause of concern, adding that the provincial regime should take necessary measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

In December 2022, militants also took over a CTD compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu area, which was cleared by the Pakistan Army soldiers three days later. However, four soldiers embraced martyrdom, and 10 sustained injuries

The latest incident comes as Pakistan witnesses a spike in terror incidents, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) ended a ceasefire with Islamabad.