Rangers, CTD kill two ‘wanted terrorists’ in Karachi

The Rangers and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police shot dead two 'most wanted terrorists’ belonging to banned outfits during a joint operation in Raees Yar Muhammad Goth, Baldia Town, on Tuesday night.

According to a Rangers spokesperson, the Rangers’ intelligence wing and the CTD has received a tip-off about the presence of members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Ustaad Aslam Group, in Raees Yar Muhammad Goth, following which they went to arrest them later that night.

The spokesperson claimed that the suspects opened fire at the law enforcers when they realised their presence and did not stop shooting at them despite being asked to surrender via megaphones. As a result, the police and Rangers returned fire.

He added that two of the suspected terrorists, identified as Muhammad Rafiq alias Adil alias Habibullah, 35, and Adnan Shabbir alias Qari, 31, were shot dead in the retaliatory firing. The bodies were shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

The Sindh government had earlier reportedly announced a bounty of Rs2 million for Rafiq’s arrest, while Shabbir was declared an extremely dangerous terrorist.

Moreover, according to the spokesperson, two pistols, two sub-machine guns, other weapons and ammunition were recovered from the deceased’s possession. He further claimed that they had recently arrived in the city from Afghanistan and were planning major terrorist activity in Karachi.

The spokesperson stated that Rafiq used to prepare bombs, mines and improvised explosive devices in Waziristan and was involved in several previous terrorist activities in Karachi, including sectarian killings, an attack on a police van on the National Highway in 2015, a blast in a rickshaw in Baldia in 2014 and an attack on the Karachi City Court in 2010 during which four militants, Shakib, Murad Shah, Wazir, and Murtaza escaped from police custody. Several people, including police officials, were killed and injured in these attacks.

Meanwhile, he added, Shabbir was an LeJ member and a close accomplice of Rafiq, Naeem Bukhari, Farooq Bhatti alias Taya, Sabir alias Munna, Ishaq alias Bobby, Asim alias Capri and Shah Jahan alias Barmi.

He was allegedly involved in the targeted killings of several police officials, including ASI Aqeel Ahmed, Muhammad Jameel, Muhammad Anwar and Muhammad Akhter in 2015. Moreover, he was involved in the murders of Anwar Jaffrey in 2014, ASI Muhammad Yousuf in Zia Colony and several other sectarian murders.

According to sources, the deceased men were also affiliated with those killed in the Urdu Bazaar operation in April, 2017, one of whom was Rafiq’s brother.

However, CTD in-charge Mazhar Mushwani said it could not yet be confirmed that Rafiq’s brother had been part of the Urdu Bazaar operation, though he too stated that both groups were affiliated with each other.