Hidden identities: Imam involved in blast said to facilitate militants

Police say they were going in to arrest Naeem aka Mushtaq so they could interrogate him

SHABQADAR: The prayer leader who blew himself up in a mosque in Syed Wali Colony a day earlier is said to be a facilitator of militant organisations, said the police on Saturday.

Naeemullah was inside the mosque when he was surrounded by the police Friday night. When he realised he was cornered, police officers said the prayer leader detonated a suicide vest. Four others who were wrapping up Isha prayers were injured in the blast.

The how and why

Zaman Khan, a local police official, told The Express Tribune an FIR about the incident has been registered.

“The incident occurred at 9pm on Friday,” he said. “Police were trying to corner Naeem but instead he exploded his suicide vest and died on the spot.”

A police official who had participated in the raid to get Naeem told The Express Tribune that Naeem also known as Mushtaq was wanted for facilitating militant organisations in the region and providing them with explosives. “We had been looking for him for a long time,” he said. “However, we were not able to find him because we only knew his alias.”

According to the official, the police discovered Mushtaq’s real name was Naeem and he was a prayer leader at the mosque. “We surrounded the mosque with the intention of arresting him,” he said. “We were planning to capture him alive as we wanted to obtain valuable information from him. However, when Naeem saw us, he blew himself up.”

Following the incident, Naeem’s remains were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Charsadda for a post-mortem and were handed over to his relatives on Saturday. He was buried the same day.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2015.