Fear and loathing in Karachi: TTP city chief shot dead in alleged encounter

Operational commander Abid Mucchar was the brain behind several attacks, including the Abbas Town bombings

KARACHI:

For the last two years, the mere mention of Abid Mucchar's name was enough to terrify not just the residents of Karachi but several law enforcers too.

On Friday, these tales of fear and loathing came to an end when he was shot dead in alleged encounter in Mauripur's Musharraf Colony. According to the Rangers, Mucchar was the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) operational commander in Karachi and was gunned down along with three of his companions.



Mucchar was accused of carrying out several attacks, including bomb blasts on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Awami National Party during the 2013 elections. Besides targeting political parties, sources claim that Mucchar also plotted several target killings and bomb blasts on the police and Rangers. He was also accused of being involved in the Abbas Town bombings of 2012, the attack on the Rangers Headquarters in North Nazimabad and the blast that killed inspector Shafiq Tanoli.

Who was Abid Mucchar?

Abid Mucchar was from the Mehsud tribe in Waziristan and was living in Karachi's Kunwari Colony for the last 15 years. He started working at a marble factory and by 2006 was working as the bus conductor for G-19 which runs in the Manghopir area. Soon after, he bought a bus of his own and used to drive it in the area as well. A few years later, he left the transport business and joined the local dacoits.

Around two years ago, however, when the Taliban started operating in Karachi, Mucchar decided to join them. "Initially, he was associated with the Baitullah or Hakeemullah Mehsud group but then he started working with the Waliur Rehman group," said a source. "Recently, they say he was working with the Khan Sajna Taliban group. He was responsible for dealing with the group's militants in Karachi."

The District West police said they can finally take a break but only for a while. "We know that someone will replace him soon enough," said an inspector. "There will be another Mucchar tomorrow. If we go over the books, there will be hardly any crime that he was not involved in."

For intelligence agencies and law enforcers in Karachi, Mucchar was a big catch. Unfortunately for them, he always managed to escape during raids and targeted operations. In May this year, he managed to flee despite being injured in an operation in Manghopir.

His luck, however, ran out recently when he faced the Rangers in an alleged encounter with three of his accomplices who died with him.

According to Col Tahir Mehmood of the Rangers, Mucchar and his companions were killed in an exchange of fire with the Rangers after they conducted a raid at their hideout following a tip-off. While talking to the media on Friday, Mehmood said that Mucchar and his group were planning an attack on Nine Zero, the MQM's headquarters, to cause chaos and disrupt the city's peace.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2014.