Khairpur rally incident: Key man behind attack on PPP rally arrested

The accused man has been found from a house he rented in Bahawalpur.

BAHAWALPUR/ SUKKUR: The police arrested late Sunday night the key suspect behind the attack on Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) rally in which ten people were killed and six others were injured.

The party had organised the rally in Sadoro Janwri village on October 7 in support of the new local government system. PPP MNA Nafeesa Shah was scheduled to speak at the event, but around fifteen minutes before her arrival, at least four armed men attacked the rally. A case had been registered on October 9 at the Section B police station. Ten people were accused but seven people had been nominated in the case. Four accused men have already been arrested during raids.

At a press conference on Monday, SSP Irfan Baloch said that the key suspect, Azizullah Janwri, aka Mullah Kafan, had been arrested on Sunday. He had rented a house in Meley Wali Gali in Bahawalpur and moved there with his family on October 4. Law enforcers raided the house on a tip-off, arrested him and seized a Kalashnikov. The suspect had changed his get-up and shaved his beard in order to evade arrest.

SSP Baloch said that Mullah Kafan was also wanted in eight cases of theft, including highway robberies. “The provincial government had fixed a bounty of Rs2.5 million for his arrest after the attack on the PPP rally.” SSP Baloch presented the arrested man before the journalists only after they agreed not to ask any questions.

There are, however, conflicting reports about the arrest. According sources privy to the matter, the accused had surrendered himself to SSP Baloch on the condition that the law enforcers would not harm him and keep him safe in prison. The Bahawalpur police also claim that they traced the suspect by themselves using his SIM card, arrested him and then handed him over to the Sindh police.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2012.