TTP terrorist apprehended in Karachi

Rangers, CTD arrest Ilyas from SITE area in joint raid, recover illegal weapons from his possession

KARACHI:

Security forces on Sunday nabbed a high-profile terrorist during a raid in Karachi, recovering weapons from his possession as well.

The joint operation was conducted by Sindh Rangers and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police in the SITE area of the metropolis after they were informed that Muhammad Ilyas, who had been living abroad until recently, was present in the locality.

The accused belongs to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been notorious for various high-profile terrorist attacks in the country.

During the joint operation, not only was Ilyas, a close associate of Qari Shakir, arrested, but illegal weapons were recovered from his possession as well.

Ilyas had joined the TTP in 2012, and after committing terrorist attacks in Karachi, had fled abroad. He has been accused of shooting and killing Sher Ahmad Khan in 2013 with the help of his accomplices in the provincial capital’s SITE area – to which he confessed on Sunday.

Moreover, he has been accused of extortion, targeted killings of police officials and bomb blasts. The police are interrogating him in these cases as well.

During interrogation, he revealed some details about his accomplices, and the police are now conducting raids to apprehend them.

It is worth mentioning here that the government had been negotiating with the TTP – the organisation Ilyas belongs to – put an end to the cross-border attacks from Afghanistan. These negotiations, which were only recently confirmed by the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, led to the declaration of an indefinite ceasefire by the banned organisation.