KARACHI:
The police have arrested three alleged members of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) along with a ‘target killer’, said Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Saud Mirza on Friday.
Mirza was accompanied by CID DIG Mushtaq Mehar and CID SSP Fayyaz Khan at the press conference. The arrested militants were planning a massive attack in the city when the police found them with hit lists and weapons, he told the media.
The three TTP suspects —Alamzaib alias Noor Shah, Hassan Dar alias Sheena and Inamur Rehman — were arrested during a raid in Orangi Town’s Sector 10-1/2.
They were caught with 20 kilogrammes of explosives, two hand grenades and three TT pistols. The police claimed that the suspects belong to TTP’s Abu Mansoor group, which is based in Swat.Alamzaib said that he received training from Taliban commander Akram alias Mohsin and began his terrorist activities in Fatehpur, Swat, where he targeted military and intelligence agency personnel. However, when the military launched its operation, he fled to Karachi and joined forces with a TTP cell led by the Umer Sahab.
Alamzaib is also said to have confessed to being involved in the murders of at least 18 police informers in Karachi.Meanwhile, Hassan Dar too had joined TTP Commander Adeel’s cell in Matta, Swat, and had fled to Karachi when the military operation began.
Inamur Rehman also joined the TTP in Swat in 2008 and worked under the militant commander, Rahimzullah.
The names of political leaders and high-ranking CID officials were found on the hit list recovered from them.
According to Mirza, another big catch was that of Wasi Iqbal, son of Zahid Iqbal, who was nabbed from Rabia City.
Wasi is believed to have been involved in at least 30 target killings, land grabbing and extortion. He charges Rs100,000 for a murder but the price can be negotiated through his associate Shiraz alias Bakri, said the officer. He entered the world of crime to avenge the murder of his mother, who used to run an NGO. His father is a heart specialist. Wasi was associated with the Mudassir Langra alias Chief Sahab group that operates mainly in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Wasi told the police that his group works with the Chandio group in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Pehlwan Goth. The combined manpower of both these groups includes over 40 armed men. When he was asked about any progress in the attacks on the Saudi consulate and its staff, Mirza contradicted Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik by saying that “no arrests as such” had been made.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2011.
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