China-cutting: ATC to indict two alleged terror financers on January 4

The duo were involved in land scams and using ill-gained funds to ‘support terrorism’

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court is set to indict two suspects, accused of land grabbing and financing terrorism, on January 4.

On Thursday, the ATC-III supplied the suspects, Faisal Masroor and Mujibullah Siddiqi, with copies of the case. They have been accused of being involved in land scams throughout the metropolis in collusion with some political leaders and land officials, as well as financing terrorism with that money.

Masroor and Siddiqi were arrested in April by the Rangers. They were subsequently grilled for three months, as the paramilitary force maintained that they had credible information for their involvement in terrorism activities.

During the interrogation, the suspects, according to the charge sheet, confessed to the wrongdoings and revealed that they encroached upon government lands, prepared fake documents and sold them. They claimed that a portion of the amount made through this business was given to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which according to them, used it to fund 'terrorism activities'.

Former MQM Karachi Tanzimi Committee incharge Hammad Siddiqi and a brother of a London-based leader of the party, Muhammad Ahsan alias Chunnu Mamu, have already been declared proclaimed offenders in the case.

The case is registered at the Frere police station under Sections 447 (criminal trespass), 448 (house trespass), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Sections 11H (fund raising) and 11V (directing terrorism activities) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Separately, the same court also supplied copies to five alleged agents of Indian spy agency RAW. MQM workers Mohsin Khan alias Kashif, Abdul Jabbar alias Zafar Tension, Shafiq alias Pappu, Khalid Aman alias Anna and Adil Ansari were arrested in August after an encounter with the Counter-Terrorism Department. According to the prosecution, the suspects are trained militants of RAW and were involved in several terrorist activities in the city, including targeted killings, bomb blasts and others. The court is likely to frame charges on them on December 22.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th,  2015.