Press conference: Police declare arrest of five ‘target killers’

KARACHI:

The police claimed to have nabbed five suspects of a banned sectarian outfit allegedly involved in nearly a dozen cases of sectarian-based targeted killings in the city.

The arrested suspects were identified as Furqan alias Baba jee, Faisal Mehmood, Syed Buturab, Syed Rifat Hussain Jafri and Azhar Hussain alias Faraz. Three pistols were also allegedly recovered from their possession.

They were arrested by Special Investigation Unit and were disclosed during a press conference at Central Police Office on Friday evening by Karachi additional IG Shahid Hayat. However, some sources claimed that the suspects were arrested by an intelligence agency and later handed over to the police. Sources further said that the suspects were traced and arrested by the intelligence agencies who traced their motorcycle while monitoring sensitive locations in Bahadurabad.

Special Investigation Unit police chief SP Farooq Awan, on the other hand, said that suspects belonged to the banned sectarian outfit, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, who during initial inquiry revealed to have killed at least 13 people. “They used to plan the target killings at their office on Tariq Road,” said Awan.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2014.