Thwarting terror: LeJ’s ex-provincial chief arrested in Karachi

Asadullah was allegedly involved in Daniel Pearl’s murder.

KARACHI: A former Sindh chapter chief of banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) was nabbed from Karachi on Sunday. His arrest was disclosed by Pakistan Rangers in Sindh.

According to a Rangers spokesperson, Qari Abdul Hai aka Asadullah was arrested in a covert operation from the University Road area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

Asadullah was allegedly involved in US journalist Daniel Pearl’s murder case.  He was the ameer of LeJ Sindh chapter from 1996 to 1997.

The spokesperson said that Asadullah was involved in several cases of terrorism. Giving details of the suspect’s involvement in terror activities, he said that Asadullah, accompanied by his companions, got Riaz Basra forcibly released from Lahore Session Court in 1994.

Asadullah was reportedly involved in US journalist Daniel Pearl’s murder case, the spokesperson said, adding that his group had dispatched parcel bombs to the offices of the Crime Investigation Department (CID).

The Rangers official added that in December 2002, his group had planned a suicide attack on a hotel near Karachi Airport, where US soldiers were lodged. However, while preparing the improvised explosive device, one of his associates, Asif Ramzi, was killed, due to which the plan was shelved.

Asadullah is yet to be handed over to the police for further investigation. Senior Superintendent Police CID Fayyaz Khan said that the accused person was released from a Punjab jail about four years ago, adding that it has yet to be ascertained if he was playing a role in terror activities in Karachi and other parts of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2013.