Plot foiled: Police nab LeJ leader and nine others

Suspects reportedly involved in assassination attempt on Pervez Musharraf

KARACHI: District Central police, in collaboration with intelligence agencies, arrested on Tuesday a ring leader of the banned sectarian outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), along with nine of his comrades.

"These terrorists belong to the Mufti Shahid group of LeJ but had a nexus with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and alQaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" claimed Rizvia SHO Idrees Alam Bangash while speaking to The Express Tribune.

The ring-leader has been identified as Junaidur Rehman, and his nine comrades include Abdul Haq Haider alias Buland Shah, Muhammad Zahid Nazir Chaudhry alias Zahid Arain, Maaz Noor, Saeed Ahmed, Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Khursheed Khan, Muhammad Sajid, Fidaur Rehman and Muhammad Altaf alias Shahid.



The suspects were arrested after an exchange of fire with police during a raid at their hideout in Nazimabad No 1, said the police. A huge cache of explosives and ammunition, including hand grenades and two Kalashnikovs, were also seized from them.

"Junaid was involved in the failed assassination attempt on General (retd) Pervez Musharraf at Sharae Faisal in 2003," claimed SHO Bangash.

According to him, Junaid confessed to the attack. At first, Mufti Shahid of LeJ had to carry out the attack on Musharraf, but the task was later given to Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Almi ring-leader, Imran. The accused parked an explosive laden high-roof van at Falak Naz Plaza on Sharae Faisal, but the van did not explode due to a technical fault, said Bangash while quoting Junaid.



"The suspects are also wanted in a number of other cases including attacks on imambargahs, targeted killing of doctors and lawyers, in particular the targeted killing of managing director of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Shaukat Raza Mirza," he claimed. Mirza and his driver were gunned near PSO House in 2001.

Junaid also confessed to killing Mirza, on the directives of Mufti, said the SHO. Three convicts, including Khalil Ahmed, Talha and Mufti, have been executed in 2015 for killing Mirza.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd,  2016.