Peshawar — The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has arrested a group linked to the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), accused of orchestrating the killing of cleric Mufti Muneer Shakir and carrying out a series of deadly attacks in Peshawar.

The CTD said the breakthrough came after identifying and arresting the group directly involved in Mufti Muneer Shakir’s killing, effectively solving the high-profile case. According to the CTD, the suspects were involved in at least eighteen militancy-related incidents in the provincial capital, which claimed the lives of fourteen police personnel and multiple religious scholars from various sects. Among the slain were DSP Sardar Hussain Khan and other officers targeted in separate attacks. Officials said the arrests also thwarted planned strikes on sensitive locations in the city.

Security forces seized a large cache of weapons and explosives during the operation. Forensic analysis revealed that in eight separate terrorist attacks across the province, the same type of weapons had been used, linking them to this network. Investigations further revealed that the same network’s weapons had been used in a range of past attacks, including the May 11 suicide bombing that targeted security personnel earlier this year. The CTD added that the group had been exposed as being behind the targeted killings of religious scholars, and its IS-K operational network in Peshawar had been dismantled. Those responsible for the May 11 attack were also among the detainees.

The killing of Mufti Muneer Shakir had drawn significant attention in March 2025. The founder of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam, Shakir was injured in a blast near Urmur Police Station and later succumbed to his wounds. The attack also injured three others. Lashkar-i-Islam, a Bara-based militant group, was formed by Shakir in 2004 but quickly descended into internal conflict. Shakir was expelled from the Bar Qambarkhel area within months following disputes with rival commander Haji Namdar. By mid-2005, leadership had passed to Mangal Bagh, and the group became notorious for violent campaigns in Khyber tribal district before being banned in 2008.

IS-K has been increasingly active in Pakistan’s northwest, targeting security forces, religious leaders, and minority communities. Analysts view the arrests as a significant blow to the group’s operational network in Peshawar, where militants have sought to exploit urban areas for high-profile attacks.

The CTD said further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend other members of the network who may still be at large.