Police said members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) were planning to attack a Shia gathering on Friday. PHOTO: INP/ FILE
KARACHI: Pakistani police on Thursday shot dead six suspected militants thought to be planning a major sectarian attack and seized explosives, suicide vests and weapons in a raid in Karachi, an official said.
The men, who police said were members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a banned extremist group, were allegedly planning to attack a Shia gathering on Friday.
Ashura processions have been targeted in the past and security has been beefed up across the country in preparation.
"We carried out an operation against the terrorists on an intelligence tip-off," Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam, who led the raiding team, told AFP.
A fierce gun battle broke out during the raid in Maripur town in Karachi, in which three officers were wounded and six suspected militants were killed, he said.
LeJ has claimed numerous deadly attacks on Shias, who make up around 20 percent of the 180 million population, including two devastating bombings in Quetta at the start of the year.
Police said the LeJ were plotting to attack the grand congregation of Shias in Karachi.
They said the raid recovered suicide vests, hand grenades, detonators, remote control devices and a car bomb, besides two motorcycles.
The shootout came after a series of small bomb attacks late on Wednesday targeting Shias in Karachi, which injured at least seven people.
Besides deploying contingents of army and paramilitary security forces, cell phone networks have been shut down in some cities to prevent remote-controlled bomb attacks.
COMMENTS (28)
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JI leadership has become deranged. Obviously lost touch with Islam long ago. Muslims should know when they are getting unIslamic beliefs pushed on them as Islamic. If anyone is a Shaheed it is the ones killed by their fellow travellers. They are the Shaheed.
Nicework done by the Police after a long time. Just shoot on sight to kill these pests.That is the only way to get rid of them, failing which our Azad Adlia would leave them for lack of evidence or weak prosecution. As regard PML N efficiency or their Chaudhry Nisar's bravery, that was seen by the whole nation in Islamabad "Sikandar's Firing Drama". So no comments.
@Proletarian: Court will let them go if there is no evidence against the criminals.....as per law they cannot keep any accused in judicial remand and jail for unlimited period....if govt prosecutors can submit strong convincing evidence against the accused than only the court can convict them, but we know how our prosecutors and investigators are and their capability....so do not blame the courts only.Even there is no proper law against terrorism and our judicial system is running as per old British law of the 1900....and laws are made by the parliament and our lawmakers who are MNAs and MPAsand Senators...and Courts / judiciary can only follow those laws...so you got it !
@Haris:It is not Umer but Munawar Hasan of JI who decided that Hakimullah is shaheed and not our Jawans and officers, policemen, police officers and innocent people who died due to terrorism....put that questionable joke to JI and not Umer.
chaudry Aslam, his team andKarachi police Zindabad
disappointed with this news.
@Candid1:
Fixed.
@Jibran: But the same police was miserably failing in conducting any operation just a year ago. The only party which had the guts to rid Karachi of the menace that she had been facing in last decade is PML-N. Why do you find it so hard to digest it?
So far I am happy with the performance and motivation of the security forces this time. There has been many attempts by terrorists and many preparations to bomb shia mosques, but the security forces have been successful. Just a few innocents have lost their lives. It is unfortunate to lose even a few innocent lives but it was probably unavoidable. If this should hold up till this weekend and God blesses the security forces with continued success, this Muharram would be one of the most peaceful in Pakistan. I am thrilled and elated the way the security forces are fighting off these terrorists and taking them down. I cannot hide my happiness.
@Jibran: What is needed is to take off the leaders of these terror and hate preaching organizations. Take off the likes of Malik Ishaq and some top leaders of religious parties that preach hatred and promote violence, the breeding ground will vanish. I wish there is someone who is just the opposite of Mumtaz Qadri guarding these hate preaching leaders. Three or four terror leaders taken down in succession, on successive days, this terror will end or reduce to a great extent.
MQM was right about the menace of Taliban in karachi.
Really very easy to fool the common Pakistanis
There should be no sanctuaries for these criminals. You can't get rid of wasps by killing them individually, unless you remove their nest. These criminals will keep coming from their breeding grounds in Punjab and North Waziristan unless the federal and Punjab governments do some operation there.
@Chaudry: You got to be kidding us. This is done by police in Karachi, which falls under provincial government. Don't be too cheap, and more loyal than the king. Ch. Nisar couldn't figure out the number of causalities when it goes across to other provinces.
Let's see when Punjab government takes action against LeJ, and breeding grounds of terrorism.
Ch. Aslam is a real gem.
@US CENTCOM: "It is simply in our best interest to see a safe and secure Pakistan. We cannot have a safe and secure region without a safe and secure Pakistan."
Then please help by preventing India from arming and financing these terrorists from Afghanistan!
Good job Chaudry Nisar! This is all PMLN work! HATS TO THEM! PML-N!!
Good thing they're killing them now instead of arresting them, otherwise the courts will just let them go
@umer: What you have written can be construed to be blasphemous. How can heaven run out of houri's? Surely you cannot take away the major shaheedi incentive. Be charitable.
Well done! Keep it up! We are proud of you, Karachi Police, especially Ch Aslam who has carried out so many successful operations against terrorist. So now, JI, now you have more Shaheeds and Karachi Police is Kafir...??
The law and order must preside in order to restore peace in the city. We commend the brave security personnel who are working night and day to end violence in the city. It is simply in our best interest to see a safe and secure Pakistan. We cannot have a safe and secure region without a safe and secure Pakistan. We fully support the government of Pakistan and stand united in regards to our peace objectives in the region.
Ali Khan
Bravo. Keep it up my dear country men. I wish you God speed. Wipe off this terrorism menace and kill them all in police encounters do not arrest them alive.
@umer: Don't make a joke of a martyr's title and the rewards he will get for it. It is a blessed title to have and the likes of Munawar and you are taking the joke of it. None of these men are martyrs. Furthermore only Allah SWT knows who is a martyr and not and He decides, and it is clear that the people who would have died in such attacks, the real innocents, are the true martyrs.
This time the law enforcing agencies seems to be on their toes that immediate results were drawn after obtaining intelligence reports.
If the law enforcing agencies will act in the similar away, I am sure that they can get the bad guys always before they will be able to implement o their nefarious agenda.
Heartiest congratulations to Chaudhry Aslam and his entire team on getting the criminals in time.
6 more shaheed today. the heaven is running out of hoors...
Good job! Go on get them all, every single one of them. Wipe them out, clean Pakistan for peace loving Pakistanis to live peacefully. Hats off to our great police wala Chaudhry Aslam. Respects for you and your men!
Good work Karachi police, now our Taliban inluenced courts cannot set them free on some rediculous pretext. Thank you for saving Karachites from another massacre.