Rangers arrest two ‘most wanted terrorists’

Suspect Mansoor Ahmed is a leader of TTP Ustad Aslam faction’s Karachi chapter

KARACHI: Sindh Rangers claimed on Thursday to have arrested two wanted terrorists during an intelligence-based raid in collaboration with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Orangi Town.

The arrested men, identified as Mansoor Ahmed alias Bilal alias Ibrahim alias Shaikh Bhai and Fazal Ghani alias Shafiq alias Najeeb, had been wanted by law enforcement agencies since 2011. They had escaped arrest in multiple raids and operations in the past.

A Rangers spokesperson said that the suspects, whose names were in the CTD’s Red Book, were associated with the Ustad Aslam faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He added that they had also admitted to their involvement in various acts of terrorism.

Revealing details about their confessions, the spokesperson said that Ahmed was a trained militant who frequently used to visit Waziristan and Afghanistan. He added that the suspect was a leader of the Karachi chapter of the group, and a close aide of leaders of other banned militant outfits, including Jundullah chief Saqib alias Anjum and TTP Swat’s Karachi chapter chief Salman alias Yasir.

The law enforcement agency’s spokesperson further said that Ahmed had been involved in various cases of terrorism in Karachi, adding that the Sindh government had announced a reward of Rs3 million for his arrest.

The other suspect, Ghani, is also said to be affiliated with the Ustad Aslam group and is a close aide of Ahmed, said the spokesperson, adding that he had been involved in terrorist activities along with Ahmed. He added that Ghani, who used to hide in Afghanistan and Balochistan after carrying out terrorist activities in Karachi, also had prize money of Rs2 million for his arrest announced by the provincial government.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2020.