Karachi operation: Nine target killers plus ice-cream shop extortionists arrested

Target killers include MQM activists and those involved in the Lyari gang war.

KARACHI: Police claim to have arrested at least nine alleged target killers and extortionists belonging to Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Lyari gang war in separate raids on Wednesday.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Javed Odho revealed in a press conference that two alleged target killers, Fida Hussain alias Billo Dhamaka and Mehboob Ali alias Painter, allegedly affiliated with MQM, were arrested from their hideout in Musharraf Colony in Maripur.

Police officials further claimed to have recovered five tennis ball-bombs, one Kalashnikov and a 7mm rifle from their possession.

Separate raids in Mochko and SITE saw the arrests of three alleged members of Lyari gang war.

The alleged gangsters were identified as Junaid aka Sunny, Zar Shah and Azeem Sikander.

Odho informed the media of another target killer, Liaquat aka KESC, who was arrested from New Karachi by Bilal Colony police.

Liaquat was allegedly involved in the target killings of ASI Ejaz Ahmed Khokhar and a political worker, Kamran Bandhani in New Karachi localities.

Extortionists arrested

The Special Investigation Unit of the Karachi police claimed on Wednesday that they had arrested three suspects who were allegedly involved in a number of extortion cases in the metropolis.

The arrested suspects were identified as Imran Saeed, Ghulam Mustafa and Abid Ali. They belong to the Shahid Bikkik group of the Lyari gang war and were arrested from near MA Jinnah Road on a tip-off.

SIU chief SP Naveed Khawaja, while speaking at a press conference, said that the arrested suspects were involved in more than 45 cases of extortion. He added that recently, they attacked the ice-cream parlor run by the nephew of president Mamnoon Hussain near Light House on MA Jinnah Road.