Behind bars: Counter Terrorism Department arrests ‘target killer’

Describing the profile of the suspect, police official said Asif was earlier associated with Muttahida Qaumi Movement

KARACHI: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh police claimed on Tuesday to have arrested a target killer associated with former mayor Mustafa Kamal-led Pak Sarzameen Party and allegedly involved in at least eight murders.

CTD senior official Raja Umer Khattab said that the suspected target killer, identified as Asif alias Halakoo, was arrested during a raid in Korangi Industrial Area. He added that the suspect recently returned to Karachi after spending around two years in a hideout in Punjab's Sadiqabad area.

Describing the profile of the suspect, Khattab remarked that Asif was earlier associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He joined the party in 2008 to get a job in the government sector and two years later, got associated with an alleged target killer, identified as Junaid alias Bulldog, in 2010.

The suspect is alleged to have killed at least eight people, including workers of Mohajir Qaumi Movement - Haqiqi, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.

He had fled from the city after the launch of Karachi operation and returned in September as one of his friends asked him to join PSP, said the CTD official.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2016.