Plan busted: Three ‘TTP’ men die but take down a Rangers sepoy

The alleged militants were planning a terrorist activity for Muharram 10.

KARACHI: Three militants allegedly belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed in an encounter but they took down the life of a Rangers sepoy as well on Wednesday.

The alleged encounter, carried out by the police and Rangers, took place in Landhi’s Gulshan-e-Bunair - an area known for the presence of the outlawed TTP. According to the law enforcers, the deceased terrorists were busy plotting a major terrorist activity to target the Ashura procession in the metropolis.

As soon as the law enforcers entered the neighbourhood, the terrorists opened fire at them - there were only three of them present inside the house. “As we surrounded their hideout and asked them to surrender, they hurled a hand grenade on us but, fortunately, all of us remained safe in the explosion,” Quaidabad SHO Ahmed Asim told The Express Tribune. There was an exchange of fire between the law enforcers and the suspects after the explosion.



In the resulting encounter, the three suspects, Amirullah Mehsud, Ziauddin alias Sher Wali and Zaman Khan, were killed along with a Rangers man, Ali Akbar. Another Rangers sepoy, Muhammad Asif, was wounded.

According to officials privy to the matter, the deceased suspects were involved in a number of cases of terrorism, especially in district Malir, and several cases were registered against them. They had disappeared from the area a few months ago but had returned recently.

“We had different leads on them from our informers and those militant of the TTP we have in our custody,” said a Rangers spokesperson, while talking to The Express Tribune. “They were planning on targeting the main Ashura procession on MA Jinnah Road but, thankfully, we targeted them before they could.” The law enforcers also claimed to have recovered weapons from their possession.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the alleged militants were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and later shifted to Edhi morgue.

According to the Rangers spokesperson, the funeral prayers of the deceased Rangers man were offered at Rangers Bhittai Headquarters and were attended by Rangers director-general Major General Rizwan Akhtar, the Rangers DDG, Karachi AIG and other senior Rangers officers. Later, his body was moved to his hometown near Mansehra for burial.

Ali Akbar was serving at Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, for nearly eight years. He left behind a widow and two daughters.

TTP ‘stronghold’

Gulshan-e-Bunair is notorious for having a strong presence of TTP. This is the same area where several major terrorist acts, including targeted killings of female polio workers, bomb blasts on clinics and hospitals for unpaid extortion are a routine. Since the militants are present in such large numbers, the law enforcers are also reluctant to enter the neighbourhood. The last time the police and Rangers entered the area was in October when two Taliban groups had clashed with each other. October’s raid came after a gap of two years.

Other arrests

Meanwhile, four alleged terrorists were reportedly arrested from district Malir. According to the police, the chief of the outlawed Taliban Karachi chapter, Shahabullah, was also among the apprehended men, who were taken into custody during a raid conducted by the intelligence agency.

A huge cache of explosives, a snatched ambulance and motorcycles that were to be used in terrorist activities were also reportedly recovered.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th,2013.