Karachi police arrest prime suspect in Perween Rahman murder case

KARACHI: Karachi police on Saturday apprehended the prime suspect in social activist Perween Rahman's murder, a statement released on Saturday confirmed.

"Rahim Sawati was arrested by Karachi's district west police," SSP Azfar Mahesar said during a press conference at his office.



According to reports, the accused was arrested from Manghopir's Sultanabad area and a pistol was also recovered from his possession.

"It was very difficult to trace and arrest the suspect as he used various methods, including different SIM cards to keep his identity hidden," SSP Mahesar said.

He further added that dozens of suspects involved in land grabbing, tanker mafia and extortion were also arrested for investigation by a joint interrogation team (JIT).

About 15 meetings were held by the JIT, following which a unanimous decision was taken that Swati who is an active worker of a political party, was the key player in Rahman's murder and was also involved in ethnic, as well as religious terror activities.



Rahman, the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was gunned down by unidentified armed motorcyclists in a drive-by shooting near Banaras Flyover on March 13, 2013. The very next day, the police claimed to have killed the alleged mastermind of the assassination plot, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan operative identified as Qari Bilal, in an encounter. Another suspect, Bilal alias Tension, was also taken into custody but was released by the court last year for want of evidence against him.

In March 2015, the police claimed to have arrested one of the prime suspects in Rahman’s murder, Ahmed Khan alias Pappu Kashmiri, from Mansehra in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.