CTD arrests two ‘militants’

The Counter Terrorism Department arrested two suspected militants reportedly affiliated with banned organization Sipah-e-Muhammad’s Agha Hassan Group. The suspects received training in militancy from a neighbouring country, claimed the CTD on Tuesday.

According to CTD DIG Omar Shahid Hamid, the arrested suspects, identified as Karrar Hussain alias Pathan and Kamran Haider alias Kami, were trained to use arms, ammunition, suicide jackets, improvised explosive devices (IED), vehicular borne IED and anti-aircraft guns. The suspects also received counter surveillance training, he added.

According to the CTD, both the suspects confessed to their involvement in sectarian target killings during initial interrogation. Kamran confessed to killing Jamia Binoria’s Maulana Yousuf Ludhianvi, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai and Sipah-e-Sahaba’s Mufti Mehmood, stated the CTD. Besides, he killed a trader, Abdul Razzaq alias tasty wala in 2001, two brothers Tanveer and Toseef in Khokharpur in 2014, auto owner Shahid near Nagan Chowrangi in 2013 and dozens of others, according to the CTD.

The CTD further claimed that Kamran revealed in his confessional statement that trader Razzaq was killed for providing financial support to the Sipah Sahaba militant group. The accused was involved in the killing of seven Sipah Sahaba and Wasif Aziz in 2007 among other killings, according to the CTD.

The other suspect, Karrar, is also accused of various sectarian target killings.

The CTD further claimed to have found a 30bore pistol and a 9MM pistol with nine live rounds in the possession of the suspects.

According to the CTD, the suspects revealed during interrogation that Agha Hussain used to fund them and paid Rs200,000 to Rs400,000 after each killing. They revealed that they would go into hiding in Sindh and Punjab for months to evade arrests after terrorist activities, stated the CTD.

DIG Hamid said that further investigation is underway.

*With additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2020.