Police say TTP splinter group behind attack on Shafiq Tanoli

Investigation reveals attackers knew Tanoli had insufficient security after he was recently demoted.

KARACHI: The attack that took the life of inspector Shafiq Tanoli was carried out by the Abid Muchar group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Express News reported on Friday.

Tanoli, after the eighth attempt on his life, was killed in Karachi's Old Sabzi Mandi area on April 24.

According to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), the attackers knew Tanoli had insufficient security after he was demoted from SHO to ASI on the alleged charges of an illegal raid.

The investigation by SIU revealed that the group had unsuccessfully targeted Tanoli earlier in December and had planned another attack in March. Due to past assassination attempts, Tanoli was advised not to move freely in his neighbourhood, particularly spending time at shops near his house.

SIU officials said many members of the Abid Muchar group had been arrested and killed in police encounters in the city.

The leader of the group - originally from Waziristan - moves around in Karachi and keeps changing his residence mostly in the area of Sohrab Goth.