Cop who hired hit-men to kill cleric nabbed

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Saturday that they have arrested a policeman who allegedly hired hit-men to murder a prominent Sunni cleric over a land dispute.

Mufti Abdul Qayyum Sufi, member of the Pakistan Ulema Association and central leader of the Sunni Ulema Council, was shot dead by two motorcycleriding gunmen, later identified as Ali Akbar and Tanveer, in Gulistan-eJauhar, Block-9 on March 21. The suspected killers were arrested by Gulistan-eJauhar police within days of the murder and the weapon used in the crime was also recovered from them.

The suspects revealed during investigations that they had been paid by police officer Mohammad Atiq to kill the cleric. The CTD obtained the mobile phone data and traced Muhammad Atiq's location with its help. He was taken into custody. The accused revealed to investigators that he is an officer of the Sindh Police Department currently posted at a sensitive agency.

He had watched Mufti Abdul Qayyum's murder live through the CCTV cameras. After the murder, Atiq went on leave but tried to flee abroad after the arrest of the hit-men. He is still under interrogation. The suspected hit-men were also associated with a political party and would eliminate anyone on their party's orders.