Crackdown: Rangers detain ASWJ leader during raid

KARACHI: The son of a slain leader of the outlawed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) was detained by the paramilitary force during a pre-dawn raid at Siddiq-e-Akbar Masjid located near Nagan Chowrangi on Wednesday.

Sohaib Nadeem, who is the son of ASWJ slain leader Maulana Abdul Ghaffor Nadeem, was taken into custody during a raid conducted at Siddiq-e-Akbar Masjid. "We have already asked the Rangers to take anyone into custody from among us, if they want," claimed ASWJ spokesperson. "The Rangers came and requested us to hand over Sohaib to them, which we did."

Sohaib is the chief of the ASWJ for District Central, while his father was a central leader of the ASWJ. The suspect's father was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in March, 2010, in Nazimabad, Karachi, when he was on his way to the city courts along with his two sons. One of his sons, Mavia, also lost his life in the attack while the other son, Rashid Nadeem, was injured. Hours have passed since Sohaib's arrest but no official statement has been issued by the force to disclose the reason behind his detention.

However, sources said that Sohaib was detained for interrogation in cases relating to sectarian violence.

Sohaib is the second leader from the ASWJ who has been detained recently. Earlier, Maulana Taj Hanfi was arrested by the Rangers and is currently imprisoned for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order.

Separate operations

Meanwhile, the Baldia Town police claimed to have arrested three suspects during a targeted operation in Ittehad Town. The suspects arrested were identified as Tanvir Ali, Saeed and Sarfaraz. SHO Shakeel Sherwani said that the suspects were apprehended during a targeted raid against drug peddlers and criminals. Separately, two suspects were apprehended by the police while patrolling in Saeedabad.

The accused were identified as Kashif and Yaqoob. The police also recovered weapons from their possession. Two alleged street criminals were arrested by the Boat Basin police. Weapons, stolen motorcycles and mobile phones were also recovered from them.

On the other hand, the police nabbed two suspects from Super Highway and seized 144 bottles of liquor from them. They were taken to a police station for questioning and a case has been registered against them.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2016.