Curbing terrorism: CID nabs two alleged ‘Punjabi Taliban’

Hit list found with names of over 100 Shia scholars, political leaders, government officers.

KARACHI: The Crime Investigation Department claimed yet another major breakthrough in the fight against terrorism on Tuesday evening, when they produced two suspects who allegedly belonged to a new terrorist cell of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab’s Qari Aslam group.

In a joint press conference held by SSP Fayaz Khan and SP Mazhar Mashwani, the suspects, Abdul Wahid, alias Lala, and Mohammad Shakeel were presented to the media but with a cloth covering their heads.

Khan said that a hit list has also been found with the names of more than 100 Shia scholars, political leaders and government officers.

Mashwani said that there are around 15 to 20 terrorists who are still working under the Punjabi Taliban’s Qari Aslam who operates from Miranshah in Waziristan.

However, when both officers were repeatedly asked about specific incidents in which the suspects were involved, they replied that the investigations were still in the preliminary stages.

The CID found a huge cache of arms and explosives, which included 30 kilogrammes of highly explosive material, three kilogrammes of ball bearings, four Kalashnikovs, a 9mm gun, an MP5 and .30 pistol each from their hideout in Mureed Goth in Khamosh Colony.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2011.