Who did it?: Police investigations make little headway into ANP killings

43 suspects detained yet police nowhere near catching culprits or ascertaining motive.

KARACHI: The police have detained over 40 suspects during targeted operations in Orangi Town following the targeted killings of five people, including an Awami National Party (ANP) leader.

Three ANP activists were shot dead along with two others, including a 10-year-old boy, by unidentified men in Orangi Town's MPR Colony on Thursday evening.

The shooting was carried out by four assailants riding two motorcycles. The three ANP activists were identified as Dr Israr, Jamshed Khan and Razeemullah and the other two as Iqbal Khan and minor Sajjad. The deceased were guests from Swat and were targeted when they were returning from a visit to Manghopir Lake.

Following the killings, the police conducted overnight raids for the arrests of the assailants behind the incident. The police detained around 43 suspects during the targeted operation and shifted them to an undisclosed location for further questioning. However, sources privy to the matter told The Express Tribune that not a single assailant behind the attack was among the detainees.

Though ANP claimed that the three activists of the party had received extortion slips from a militant group in Swat, police investigators remained clueless about the motive behind the incident.

"In Karachi, ANP members are being targeted by militants who demand extortion and ask them to leave the party," Orangi Division SP Malik Mohammad Ehsan told The Express Tribune. "If we look at past attacks on ANP in Karachi, it seems that the incident also occurred for the same reasons. However, we are working on several different angles."

Over 80 people associated with ANP have been killed so far in Karachi since last year. The majority of them were killed in targeted attacks and bomb blasts. "The investigations reveal that most of the attacks on ANP men were carried out by militants," revealed a senior investigation officer. "We have arrested a few of the men behind the attacks but a number of the militants are yet to be arrested."

The combined funeral prayers of the deceased were offered at MPR Colony on Friday. Jamshed was later buried at MPR Colony graveyard while the bodies of the remaining four were sent to their hometowns of Swat and Peshawar for burial. A large number of ANP men including ANP senior leader Bashir Jan attended the funerals. "The police should provide protection to us," said Jan. "We are with the law enforcers against the militants.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2014.